THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 (AS AMENDED) AS IT FORMS PART OF THE DOMESTIC LAW OF THE UNITED KINGDOM BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 (AS AMENDED). UPON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

3 May 2023

Versarien plc

("Versarien" or the "Company")

Placing to raise £531,624 and Update on Turnaround Strategy

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group, announces a placing to raise £531,624 (before expenses) and an update on the Company's turnaround strategy.

Placing

The Company has raised £531,624 (before expenses) by way of a placing (the "Placing") of 42,529,900 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company ("Placing Shares") at a price of 1.25 pence per share (the "Placing Price").

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used for general operational and working capital purposes and for commercialisation activities primarily in the construction and leisure sectors, in line with the Company's new strategic roadmap which is being finalised.

The issue of the Placing Shares uses the authorities granted by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting of the Company ("AGM") held on 29 March 2023 and therefore no shareholder approval is required for the Placing.

Turnaround strategy

As announced on 29 March at the time of the AGM, David Stone and his team at Prompt Business Strategies Limited have been engaged to aid the Board in developing both its strategic and management plans.  Since the AGM, David and his team have been working closely with the Board to develop a strategy that seeks to preserve appropriate intellectual property within the Company, whilst significantly reducing operational costs to facilitate a cash runway that will allow Versarien to deliver commercially in its targeted markets.  The new strategic roadmap and financial plan will be announced in the coming weeks.

In addition, the Company continues to progress and assess asset disposal options, including disposing of the mature businesses, that are no longer core activities for Versarien.

Further updates will be announced in due course as appropriate.  

Chris Leigh, Chief Financial Officer of Versarien, commented: "As previously announced, the Company requires further funding to support its activities and the Board welcomes the investor interest in this Placing.  We continue to focus on completing our strategic reorganisation and commercial roadmap and look forward to sharing this with shareholders in due course."

Admission and Total Voting Rights

Application will be made for admission of the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") on or around 10 May 2023.  The Placing Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's existing ordinary shares.   Following Admission, the total number of ordinary shares in the Company in issue will be 265,779,690.  This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company under the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

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