Alpha Returns Group PLC
("Alpha Returns" or the "Company")
19 December 2013

Adoption of share option scheme

The Company is pleased to announce that on 2 December 2013 the Board adopted a company share option scheme (the "Scheme") to enable it to recruit and retain high-calibre employees and to provide it with a means of giving incentive to, rewarding, remunerating, compensating and/or providing benefits to persons who contribute or may bring benefit to the Company.

The terms of the Scheme include provisions to the following effect:

  • the Company may grant options up to a maximum 10 per cent. of the Company's issued share capital from time to time (including for these purposes all subsisting options under the Scheme or any other scheme granted during the previous ten years and any shares issued as a result of the exercise of any options during the previous ten years), subject to a limit of 2 per cent. of the total number of shares then in issue for any one eligible person;

  • eligible persons include any person as may be determined by the directors from time to time, including but not limited to directors, employees, consultants, advisers and business partners;

  • options may be granted at any time within a period of 4 weeks after an annual or half yearly results announcement or at such other time when the board considers exceptional circumstances exist justifying the grant of options, provided that the Company is not at the time in a close period as defined in the AIM Rules;

  • no options may be granted after the tenth anniversary of adoption of the scheme;

  • the subscription price shall not be less than the nominal value of a share nor the market value of a share on the date of grant (calculated as the average middle market quote for the immediately preceding 3 dealing days); and

  • options will ordinarily be exerciseable in whole or in part at any time from the second anniversary of the date of grant up to the seventh anniversary of the date of grant, will not be transferable (save to personal representatives on the death of the holder) and may be conditional on the satisfaction of objective performance conditions to be determined at the time of grant.

The Scheme, which is governed by English law, also includes provisions relating to takeovers and liquidations, variations of share capital and a tax indemnity from option holders in favour of the Company.

No options have yet been granted under the Scheme.

For further information:

Alpha Returns Group plc
Christopher Neo, Executive Director 020 3286 6388

ZAI Corporate Finance Limited (Nomad) 020 7060 2220
Peter Trevelyan Clark / Ivy Wang

Peterhouse Corporate Finance (Broker) 020 7469 0935
Jon Levinson

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