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.

19 January 2024

Versarien plc

("Versarien" or the "Company")

Placing to raise £400,000

Versarien plc (AIM: VRS), the advanced materials engineering group, announces it has raised £400,000 (before expenses) by way of a placing (the "Placing") of 500,000,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company ("Placing Shares") at a price of 0.08 pence per share (the "Placing Price").

Highlights

·    Versarien has raised £400,000, before expenses, through the placing of 500,000,000 new ordinary shares in the capital of the Company at a price of 0.08 pence per share

·    The net proceeds of the Placing will be used for corporate and working capital purposes as the Company seeks to capitalise on the growing number of opportunities in its pipeline whilst continuing to progress its asset sales

·    The issue of the Placing Shares is within existing authorities granted by shareholders at the general meeting of the Company held on 10 January 2024 and therefore no shareholder approval is required for the Placing

Use of Proceeds and Turnaround Strategy

The net proceeds of the Placing will be used for corporate and working capital purposes as the Company seeks to capitalise on the growing number of opportunities in its pipeline. Recent new projects include a sales agreement with Go To Gym to bring Graphene-Wear^TM products to Colombia, Brazil and the USA, and Versarien's subsidiary, Gnanomat, entering into an agreement to co-develop advanced materials with IRPC, a Thai petroleum and petrochemical company. These projects, along with a pipeline of other opportunities currently being pursued demonstrate the longer term prospects for the business.

As announced on 20 December 2023, the mature businesses and the intellectual property and plant acquired from Hanwha Aerospace in 2020 continue to be marketed for sale and the Company is progressing discussions with a number of interested parties, though the timing of any asset sales and the quantum of the funds that may be received remains uncertain.

Stephen Hodge, Chief Executive Officer of Versarien, commented:

"In the short time since the Company Update announced on 20 December, the commercial, licencing and grant opportunities have continued to grow. This further funding will help us to progress the conversion of these leads while the asset sale discussions continue. We look forward to updating the market in due course."  

Admission and Total Voting Rights

Application has been made for admission of the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") on or around 24 January 2024. 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 996,169,507. 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.

For further information please contact:

About Versarien:

The strategy of Versarien plc (AIM:VRS) is to be a development led advanced materials company focussed on specific sectors that will lead to a light manufacturing and licensing model.

For further information please see: http://www.versarien.com