Directorate Change (6954E)

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RNS Number : 6954E

Niche Group (The) PLC

01 June 2012

For immediate release: 1 June 2012

The Niche Group plc

("Niche" or the "Company")

Directorate Change

Niche, the oil and gas focused investment company announces that Stuart Thomas has elected to step down as Executive Chairman with immediate effect. Stuart was appointed to the Niche board in November 2011 with a mandate to restructure the business such that Niche would transition from an investment vehicle into an oil & gas exploration and production company. Stuart was instrumental in negotiating terms which led to the signature of a conditional share purchase agreement with respect to the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Oman Resources Limited (completion of which would constitute a reverse takeover for the purposes of the AIM Rules). Stuart has decided that his role in restructuring the business has come to a natural conclusion. Stuart, who remains a major shareholder, is delighted with the significant progress that has been made and believes that Niche is on course to realise substantial value from its exposure to a portfolio of licence interests onshore Turkey. The board of Niche wishes to thank Stuart for his considerable contribution towards the transformation of the business.

It is the intention of the Company to appoint an exploration and production specialist management team conditional on approval of the reverse takeover. The Company is continuing to work towards completing the reverse takeover and hopes to make a further announcement in this regard in due course.

The Company has entered into a settlement agreement with Stuart Thomas and Spring Capital Limited ("Spring Capital"), a company in which Stuart Thomas is a significant shareholder, pursuant to which both Stuart Thomas and Spring Capital, in their respective capacities as shareholders of the Company, have agreed to waive certain claims against the Company in consideration for a cash payment of GBP100,000. The Directors consider, having consulted with Deloitte Corporate Finance, that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable insofar as its shareholders are concerned.

Enquiries:

The Niche Group plc

Donal Boylan

Tel: + 353 (87) 2769655

Deloitte LLP - Nominated Adviser

Oliver Rigby or Jon Hinton

Tel: [phone]

M: Communications

Ben Simons

Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7920 2340

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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