SandpiperCI Update on The Guernsey Pub Company Limited

The Board of Directors of the Company regrets to announce that due to the effects of COVID-19 to date and the uncertainty surrounding its future effects, it has been unable to fulfil the conditions of the placing agreement required to achieve admission of the placing shares to the Official List of The International Stock Exchange, which was the remaining condition to the sale and purchase agreement required to complete the acquisition of The Guernsey Pub Company Limited. Therefore, the Company has served notice to the vendors to terminate the sale and purchase agreement with effect from tomorrow, 1 April 2020.

The Board is closely monitoring the implications of COVID-19 on the business of the Company and its group. The situation is fast-moving, with the Government of Jersey announcing additional measures to slow the spread of the infection on Sunday evening, which came into effect yesterday morning. The measures implemented by both the States of Guernsey and the Government of Jersey require the closure of all non-essential shops and place material restrictions on physical retail businesses. As a result, all of our clothing and home shops in Guernsey and Jersey are temporarily closed while the food stores remain open. We are continually evaluating and taking action to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns, as well as running various scenarios to assess the potential financial impact. The Company will make further announcements if any material factors emerge that might affect investors’ interests.

SandpiperCI, the Channel Islands’ largest retailer, announced earlier today that it has exchanged contracts to buy the entire share capital of The Guernsey Pub Company Limited which is the holding company of Randalls of Guernsey. The acquisition is subject to clearance by The Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities (CICRA) and it is hoped to conclude the acquisition by the end of February 2020.

Executive Chairman, Tony O’Neill said: “When we listed Sandpiper on The International Stock Exchange at the end of May 2019, we indicated that we intended to accelerate the growth of the business by looking at opportunities in adjacent consumer facing sectors in addition to the ongoing optimisation of our retail business. We now have around 200 local investors and this acquisition represents our first major investment as a listed entity. Randalls of Guernsey is well known to Bailiwick residents as it operates its own brewery and 20 pubs and hotels across the islands of Guernsey and Sark. The company also operates the duty free outlets at Guernsey and Alderney airports. The organisation is well managed and will complement our existing retail operations. The management team has ongoing plans to continue the development of the business and Sandpiper is looking forward to working with them to further enhance and support performance.”