Eve Sleep plc (EVE)
Eve Sleep plc: Trading Update, Board Appointment, Grant of Share Options
29-May-2020 / 07:00 GMT/BST
Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information
according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR), transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
eve Sleep plc ("eve" or the "Company")
Trading update, Board appointment and Grant of share options
Trading in-line, healthy cash position
eve Sleep ("eve", the "Company), the direct to consumer sleep wellness brand
operating in the UK, Ireland (together the UK&I) and France announces a
trading update for the four months ended 30 April 2020 (the Period), ahead
of its Annual General Meeting being held at 10.00am this morning. The
Company also announces that Cheryl Calverley will formally be appointed to
the Board as of 1 June 2020 and as part of her remuneration for her new role
has been granted options over the Company's shares. Cheryl became the
Company's Chief Executive Officer on 12 May 2020 following a formal handover
period.
Highlights
· Group revenues in-line with expectations, including good trading in May
· Positive marketing contribution for the Period, representing profit
after all direct costs including marketing but before central overheads
· Cash burn in the Period averaged GBP0.1m per month
· Net cash at 30 April 2020 of GBP7.5m (31 December 2019: GBP8.0m)
· Legacy Woodford shareholding cleared1
Covid-19 update
The business has adapted quickly and effectively to the lockdown in March.
The shift to home working has been seamless with no noticeable impact on
productivity. Having previously right sized the business in late 2019 there
has been no need to furlough any team members. Supply chain issues have been
modest and well managed and our manufacturing partners have now resumed
production.
Whilst weekly trading patterns have varied substantially across recent
months, overall revenues are in-line with the Board's expectations, with
improving trading in April continuing into May, after the disruption of the
initial lock-down period from the middle of March. Sales of eve's award
winning premium mattress range and bedframes continue to exhibit strong
demand, and the Company has experienced an increase in sales of its pillows,
bedding, toppers and single mattresses as households adapt to life in
lockdown. Most importantly, with the focus on moving to profit and cash
generation, the Company has achieved a positive marketing contribution for
the Period. eve has now delivered a positive marketing contribution for the
eight month period commencing September 2019.
As an online focused business, eve has undoubtedly benefitted from the lack
of high street competition following the lockdown in March. Notwithstanding
resilient trading to date, there is clearly uncertainty around the trading
environment for the remaining seven months of the financial year, including
the ongoing strength of consumer demand and industry competition, as store
based retailers advance their plans to re-open as early as June.
Appointment to the Board and Grant of share options
As noted above, the Company is also pleased to announce, that Cheryl
Calverley will formally be appointed to the Board as of 1 June 2020. Cheryl
became the Company's Chief Executive Officer on 12 May 2020 following a
formal handover period.
Cheryl has been granted options to subscribe for an aggregate of 3,750,000
ordinary shares in the Company (the "Options") at an exercise price of 0.1p
(with a start date for vesting purposes of 1 June 2020). The Options vest
from their start date on a straight-line basis over a three-year vesting
period in monthly increments, subject to meeting certain performance
criteria. Following the grant of the options, Cheryl Nicola Calverley (née
Bouton), 40, holds nil ordinary shares in the Company, 204,167 vested
unexercised options and 4,295,833 unvested options due to vest over the next
3 years. There is no further information required to be disclosed under Rule
17 or paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 of the AIM Rules for Companies.
Separately, Nikki Crumpton and Tom Enraght-Moony, Non-executive Directors of
the Company, were both granted options to each subscribe for an aggregate of
180,000 ordinary shares in the Company, vesting over three years at an
exercise price of 0.1p.
Cheryl Calverley, CEO of eve Sleep commented:
"eve has shown remarkable resilience through this complex period, with a
robust supply chain and collaborative and responsive team culture. We have
grasped the opportunity offered by the depressed TV market to run our
existing, highly effective campaigns in both the UK and France, which have
seen a strong response and resulted in further gains in marketing
efficiency. Our differentiated strategy, focused on the wider sleep wellness
market, continues to resonate well with customers and is achieving ongoing
improvements in the customer repeat rate and the sales contribution of wider
sleep products beyond mattresses.
I am confident that our online focused proposition, core strategy and
breadth of our award winning product suite will enable us to navigate
ongoing market uncertainty and the return of primarily store based
competition. We remain obsessive about seamlessly delivering better sleep
for our customers, and carefully and systematically growing our impact on
sleep through products, partners and markets."
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company
to constitute inside information stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
For enquiries, please contact:
eve Sleep plc
Cheryl Calverley, Chief Executive via M7 Communications LTD
Officer
Tim Parfitt, Chief Financial Officer
finnCap Ltd - Nominated Adviser and Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 0500
Broker
Matt Goode / Hannah Boros - Corporate
Finance
Alice Lane - Equity Capital Markets
M7 Communications LTD - PR/IR Tel: +44(0)7903 089 543
Mark Reed
Footnote
1The Woodford holding stood at 45% of outstanding share capital following
the equity fund raise in February 2019. This holding was subsequently
transferred to three asset managers, Jupiter, Link and Standard Life
Aberdeen. As at 28 May 2020 all three asset managers have exited their
holding, removing what was a substantial stock overhang
The notification below, made in accordance with the
requirements of the EU Market Abuse Regulation,
provides further detail.
1 Details of the
person discharging
managerial
responsibilities /
person closely
associated
a) Name Cheryl Calverley
2 Reason for the
notification
a) Position / status CEO
Initial notification Initial notification
/ amendment
3 Details of the issuer, emission
allowance market participant, auction
platform, auctioneer or auction monitor
a) Name eve Sleep plc
b) LEI 2138007BAC29AUXWQE67
4 Details of the transaction(s): section
to be prepared for (i) each type of
instrument; (ii) each type of
transaction; (iii) each date and (iv)
each place where transactions have been
conducted
a) Description of the Ordinary shares of
financial 0.1p each ("Ordinary
instrument, type of Shares")
instrument
Identification code ISIN: GB00BYWMFT51
b) Nature of Issuance of options
transaction over Ordinary Shares
c) Price(s) and Price(s) Volume(s)
volume(s) n.a 3,750,000
d) Aggregated N.A
information
e) Date of the 28 May 2020
transaction
f) Place of the N.A
transaction
1 Details of the person
discharging
managerial
responsibilities /
person closely
associated
a) Name Tom Enraght-Moony
2 Reason for the
notification
a) Position / status NED
Initial notification Initial notification
/ amendment
3 Details of the issuer, emission allowance
market participant, auction platform,
auctioneer or auction monitor
a) Name eve Sleep plc
b) LEI 2138007BAC29AUXWQE67
4 Details of the transaction(s): section to
be prepared for (i) each type of
instrument; (ii) each type of transaction;
(iii) each date and (iv) each place where
transactions have been conducted
a) Description of the Ordinary shares of
financial instrument, 0.1p each ("Ordinary
type of instrument Shares")
Identification code ISIN: GB00BYWMFT51
b) Nature of transaction Issuance of options
over Ordinary Shares
c) Price(s) and Price(s) Volume(s)
volume(s) n.a 180,000
d) Aggregated N.A
information
e) Date of the 1 April 2019
transaction
f) Place of the N.A
transaction
1 Details of the person
discharging managerial
responsibilities / person
closely associated
a) Name Nikki Crumpton
2 Reason for the
notification
a) Position / status NED
Initial notification / Initial notification
amendment
3 Details of the issuer, emission allowance market
participant, auction platform, auctioneer or
auction monitor
a) Name eve Sleep plc
b) LEI 2138007BAC29AUXWQE67
4 Details of the transaction(s): section to be
prepared for (i) each type of instrument; (ii)
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