Stanley Gibbons Group PLC Stanley Gibbons Buys World's Most Valuable Stamp (2189B)

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RNS Number : 2189B

Stanley Gibbons Group PLC

08 June 2021

The Stanley Gibbons Group plc ("Stanley Gibbons", the "Company" or the "Group")

Stanley Gibbons Purchases The World's Most Valuable Stamp

Stanley Gibbons plc is delighted to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Stanley Gibbons Limited has purchased the world's most famous and valuable stamp - the 1856 1c Magenta from British Guiana - the only one in existence.

The unique 1c Magenta was purchased at auction in the USA for a total consideration of US$8.307mn (including buyer's premium and overhead fee) and as a result the world's most valuable stamp will now be owned by the world's longest established rare stamp merchant.

The stamp will be displayed at the Stanley Gibbons flagship store at 399 Strand, London. It is also the Group's intention to make it available for everybody to enjoy owning a piece of this unique and storied item through the increasingly popular concepts of fractional ownership and the creation of digital collections.

The purchase will be financed through an interest free loan from Phoenix S.G. Ltd (PSG), the Company's majority shareholder.

The Group is also considering partnering with Castelnau Group Ltd (Castelnau), a company controlled by Phoenix Asset Management Partners, as Castelnau seek to develop a new digital platform on which to buy, sell and most importantly, enjoy collectible assets. The proposed partnership with Castelnau has the potential to provide the Group with a minority shareholding in the new digital platform at zero cost as well as cost free access to the platform itself.

Any future agreement with Castelnau could constitute a related party transaction under the AIM rules and further updates will be provided in due course.

For more details about the stamp and to register your interest in learning more about the possibility of purchasing a piece of history, please visit www.1c-magenta.com

Graham Shircore, Group CEO said,

'We are delighted to bring together the world's largest stamp dealer and the world's most valuable stamp'. We look forward to making this historic artefact available to a much wider audience than ever before, and to bringing it back to the Home of Stamp Collecting'.

'We are also excited about the potential opportunity to work further with Castelnau in creating a world leading digital platform for collectibles and the significant benefits that this may bring to the Group.'

Harry Wilson, Group Chairman said,

'This purchase represents a new and highly significant next step in the rebuilding of the world's oldest stamp dealer. Not only does it demonstrate the belief of our majority shareholder in its prospects but also the Group's increasing confidence in its own prospects.'

Details of the Loan Facility

The material elements of the new loan facility between Stanley Gibbons Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group, and our majority shareholder are:

-Interest free with 50% of any profit made on the sale of the item due to PSG.

-Secured solely against the item with no further recourse to any group companies.

-An initial 5-year term, which can be extended by agreement between the parties.

-If the item is unsold at maturity, the loan can be settled through return of the item to PSG.

-If the item is sold for less than the outstanding value of the loan, the net proceeds of the sale will be

deemed to   be sufficient consideration to satisfy the loan obligation in full. 

-Sale of the item requires PSG approval.

Related Party Transaction

PSG is currently interested in 58.09 per cent. of the issued share capital of the Company and the provision of the above loan facility constitutes a related party transaction for the purposes of AIM Rule 13. The Independent Directors of the Company consider, having consulted with the Company's nominated adviser, Liberum Capital Limited, that the terms of the transaction are fair and reasonable so far as the Company's shareholders are concerned. Graham Shircore is the CEO of the Company and a Partner of Phoenix Asset Management Partners (PAMP). As a nominee of PAMP on the Company's Board, he is not considered independent for the purposes of this transaction.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

For further information, contact:

The Stanley Gibbons Group plc

[phone]

Graham Shircore

Anthony Gee

Liberum Capital Limited (Nomad and Broker) [phone]

Andrew Godber

Edward Thomas

Maitland / AMO (PR) [phone]

William Clutterbuck

Jason Ochere

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June 08, 2021 11:03 ET (15:03 GMT)