| For immediate release | 1 February 2021 |
Watkin Jones plc
('Watkin Jones' or the 'Company')
Director/PDMR Shareholding
Watkin Jones plc (AIM:WJG), the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for rent with a focus on the build to rent and purpose built student accommodation sectors, announces that on 29 January 2021 the following nominal-cost share awards over ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company were granted under the Watkin Jones Long Term Incentive Plan 2018 to the following persons discharging managerial responsibilities:
Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulations.
| PDMR | Position | No. of shares under Option
|
| Richard Simpson | Chief Executive Officer | 386,402
|
| Philip Byrom | Chief Financial Officer | 132,664
|
The awards have an exercise price of one penny per share and become exercisable after three years from the date of grant subject to continued employment and performance based on the Company's total shareholder return and earnings per share performance over three-year performance periods. In addition to assessing the performance conditions, the Remuneration Committee retains the discretion to adjust the Awards downwards at vesting to ensure that all relevant factors are taken into account, including the consideration of any windfall gains.
The notification below, made in accordance with the requirements of the EU Market Abuse Regulation, provides further detail:
Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them.
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |||||
| a) | Name | Richard Simpson | ||||
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |||||
| a) | Position/status | Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| b)
| Initial notification /Amendment | Initial notification | ||||
| 3
| Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
| a) | Name | Watkin Jones plc
| ||||
| b) | LEI | 2138009X19O21NU5SG79
| ||||
| 4
| Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
| a)
| Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code | Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each
ISIN: GB00BD6RF223 | ||||
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Grant of options | ||||
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) |
| ||||
| d) | Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price |
| ||||
| e) | Date of the transaction | 29 January 2021 | ||||
| f) | Place of the transaction | Outside of a trading venue | ||||
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |||||
| a) | Name | Philip Byrom | ||||
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |||||
| a) | Position/status | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| b)
| Initial notification /Amendment | Initial notification | ||||
| 3
| Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |||||
| a) | Name | Watkin Jones plc
| ||||
| b) | LEI | 2138009X19O21NU5SG79
| ||||
| 4
| Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted | |||||
| a)
| Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code | Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each
ISIN: GB00BD6RF223 | ||||
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Grant of options | ||||
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) |
| ||||
| d) | Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price |
| ||||
| e) | Date of the transaction | 29 January 2021 | ||||
| f) | Place of the transaction | Outside of a trading venue | ||||
- Ends -
For further information:
| Watkin Jones plc |
| |
| Richard Simpson, Chief Executive Officer | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3617 4453 | |
| Philip Byrom, Chief Financial Officer | ||
|
|
| |
| Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint Corporate Broker) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900 | |
| Mike Bell / Ed Allsopp | ||
|
|
| |
|
Jefferies Hoare Govett (Joint Corporate Broker) |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7029 8000 | |
| Max Jones / Will Soutar | ||
Media enquiries:
| Buchanan |
|
| Henry Harrison-Topham / Richard Oldworth Jamie Hooper / Steph Watson |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 |
| watkinjones@buchanan.uk.com | www.buchanan.uk.com |
Notes to Editors
Watkin Jones is the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for rent, with a focus on the build to rent and student accommodation sectors. The Group has strong relationships with institutional investors, and a reputation for successful, on-time-delivery of high quality developments. Since 1999, Watkin Jones has delivered over 43,000 student beds across 130 sites, making it a key player and leader in the UK purpose built student accommodation market. In addition, Fresh, the Group's specialist accommodation management business, manages over 20,000 student beds and build to rent apartments on behalf of its institutional clients. Watkin Jones has also been responsible for over 80 residential developments, ranging from starter homes to executive housing and apartments. The Group is increasingly expanding its operations into the build to rent sector.
The Group's competitive advantage lies in its experienced management team and business model, which enables it to offer an end-to-end solution for investors, delivered entirely in-house with minimal reliance on third parties, across the entire life cycle of an asset.
Watkin Jones was admitted to trading on AIM in March 2016 with the ticker WJG.L. For additional information please visit www.watkinjonesplc.com
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