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Aurrigo International PLC
12 September 2022
 

 

 

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION, PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN ADMISSION DOCUMENT OR A PROSPECTUS AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR FORM PART OF, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS, AN OFFER TO SELL OR ISSUE, OR A SOLICITATION OF ANY OFFER TO BUY OR SUBSCRIBE FOR, ANY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION. PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS SHOULD NOT SUBSCRIBE FOR OR PURCHASE ANY SECURITIES REFERRED TO IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, EXCEPT ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION IN THE FINAL ADMISSION DOCUMENT TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE COMPANY AND ANY SUPPLEMENT THERETO, IN CONNECTION WITH THE PLACING OF ITS ISSUED AND TO BE ISSUED ORDINARY SHARES AND THE PROPOSED ADMISSION TO TRADING ON AIM.

 

 

12 September 2022

 

Aurrigo International plc

 

Placing and Proposed Admission to Trading on AIM

 

Aurrigo International plc ("Aurrigo" or the "Company"), a leading international provider of transport technology solutions, announces its intention to seek admission of its shares to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange ("Admission") and a placing (the "Placing") of 41,666,667 Ordinary Shares at 48 pence per Ordinary Share (the "Placing Price"). The Placing has conditionally raised gross proceeds of approximately £8 million, with support from high quality institutional investors. Singer Capital Markets Securities Limited is acting as Sole Bookrunner and Placing Agent and Singer Capital Markets Advisory LLP has been retained as Nominated Adviser and Broker.

 

The Company will today publish its AIM Admission Document and has applied for Admission with effect from Thursday 15 September 2022. Placing

 

Summary

 

·    Headquartered in Coventry, UK, Aurrigo has a 29-year history as a manufacturer and supplier of product solutions to premium automotive OEMs.

·      It is highly regarded as a specialist in autonomous and semi-autonomous technology solutions and is now moving into the aviation, ground handling and cargo industries.

·    The Company has developed six autonomous vehicles to date, which can be utilised to reduce costs, resolve operational issues and tackle labour shortages, whilst also improving sustainability.

·     In order to capitalise on the global opportunity in aviation, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Aurrigo has raised £8 million to fund its strategic growth plans.

·     Based on the Placing Price, the market capitalisation of the Company at commencement of dealings will be £20 million.

·    On Admission, the Company will have a total of 41,666,667 Ordinary Shares in issue, with 12.9% of its Common Shares in public hands.

·      Proceeds of the Placing will be used to:

-     Realise the potential growth of the Company's Aviation Division;

-     Scale headcount at all levels, both in the UK and internationally;

-     Increase brand awareness and enhance the Company's profile; and

-     Capitalise on its early mover advantage, through the deployment of Auto-Sim and Auto-Dolly, the company's lead products.

 

·      The Company has applied for admission to trading on AIM under the ticker "AURR".

·   Admission and commencement of dealings on AIM are anticipated to take place at 08:00 a.m. on 15 September 2022.

 

Prof. David Keene, CEO of Aurrigo, said:

"This transaction provides the company with essential funding to accelerate our growth domestically and internationally. The global transportation market is ripe for disruption. Aviation in particular has significant structural constraints, with decades old equipment and labour shortages hampering its recovery from Covid-19 and its long-term growth prospects. Our innovative, autonomous technologies are ready to revolutionise airport ground handling of baggage and cargo, and our simulation software can unlock efficiencies for all aspects of airport operations worldwide.

"Our 29-year experience in automotive parts and systems development and our expertise in complex project delivery programs means that we are very well positioned to deliver on these products which have immense potential to solve a serious industry problem internationally.

"An AIM IPO would represent a significant milestone for Aurrigo and provide a platform to fulfil its great potential and make a meaningful difference to airports, airlines, passengers and cargo around the world."

 

Except where the context requires otherwise, defined terms herein shall have the meanings given to them in the AIM Admission Document.


Enquiries

Aurrigo International plc

Andrew Cornish, Non-Executive Chair

David Keene, Chief Executive Officer

Ian Grubb, Chief Financial Officer 

 

via Instinctif Partners

 

Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Sole Broker)

Phil Davies, Rick Thompson, George Tzimas

Kailey Aliyar

+44 (0) 20 7496 3000

 

 


Instinctif Partners (Financial Communications)

Tim McCall, Rozi Morris, Mark Walter

 

+44 (0)20 7457 2020

[email protected]

 

Background on Aurrigo

Aurrigo is a leading international provider of transport technology solutions. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and supplies OEM products and autonomous vehicles to the automotive and transport industries. It is highly regarded as a specialist in autonomous and semi-autonomous technology solutions for the aviation, ground handling and cargo industries.

 

The company has three divisions, Automotive Technology, Autonomous Technology and Aviation Technology.

 

Automotive Technology

Develops a range of components and systems including electronic control units, wiring harness systems, interior and exterior parts, high level customer delight features and safety critical systems. The division is IATF 16949 (the highest automotive standard) and ISO 14001 accredited and is capable providing customers with a complete vehicle engineering service. The division benefits from long standing customer relationships which include Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin Lagonda, Morgan Motors, Bentley, McLaren and others.

 

Autonomous Technology

Was established in 2016 to develop autonomous capabilities, supported by the company's extensive experience in automotive vehicle engineering. It develops and manufactures autonomous vehicles and supporting systems from the "ground up".

 

The autonomous vehicle products which have been developed to date include:

·   Auto-Pod: a four-seat vehicle designed for non-road going passenger transportation, e.g. around airports, city centres, sporting venues, university campuses and age care communities.

·   Auto-Shuttle: a ten-seat passenger vehicle which can operate fully autonomously, or be driven manually as a conventional electric vehicle, fully road-legal.

·      Auto-Deliver: a one-off prototype, first and last mile, home shopping/logistics vehicle.

·      Auto-Connect: Aurrigo's own purpose built, cyber resilient, vehicle management platform designed to monitor, supervise and ultimately capture revenues from the movements of all types of the company's autonomous vehicles.

·     Auto-Stack: the company's proprietary Autonomous Driving Software (ADS). Controls the core vehicle driving functions such as steering, braking, drive power, multiple sensor integration, safety, location mapping, localisation to the map and route and navigation guidance.

 

Aviation Technology

The Aviation Technology division was established in 2019 to exploit the potential opportunity for the introduction of automated airport vehicles and the supporting services both in consulting and operations. Its proof-of-concept baggage movement vehicle was trialled at Heathrow Terminal 5 in 2019. The company has since developed and is trialling a number of electric vehicle products:

 

·      Auto-Sim is a proprietary, sophisticated cloud-based tool which can be used by airports, airlines and ground handling companies to model the business case for the deployment of the Company's vehicles, including the Auto-Dolly, Auto-DollyTug, Auto-Cargo and Auto-Patrol. It can also be used for the simulation of all other currently manually driven airside vehicles and operations.

·    Auto-Dolly is an innovative automated electric baggage transportation solution for airports specifically designed to reduce baggage and cargo loading and unloading times, improve movement efficiencies, improve health & safety, significantly reduce manpower needs and operational costs. It can carry a standard aviation baggage container called a ULD or loose bags.

·   Auto-Patrol is an off-road prototype product designed to enable autonomous unmanned remote security and surveillance.

·     Auto-DollyTug is designed to carry a standard aviation baggage container called a ULD or loose bags like the Auto-Dolly product but with the added benefit of being able to tow an additional three conventional baggage dollies. The vehicle can operate fully autonomously or can be driven manually.

·    Auto-Cargo will be designed to carry a standard cargo pallet whilst also towing a standard cargo trailer, thereby replacing the existing 'dockside truck' and two dolly combination commonly used at airports.

       

Key Strengths

The Directors believe that the company has the following key strengths:

Industry leading, innovative solutions  

·    Strong heritage of automotive expertise, underpinning efficient design capabilities and ability to optimise the use of commonly available automotive parts and techniques.  

·    Created award winning, industry leading autonomous vehicles by investing heavily in its proprietary products and software.  

·      Developed and owns all IP relating to its autonomous vehicle technology - valued at around £16m. 

·   Continued investment in research and development of products and software to maintain market leading position. 

 

End-to-end solution for industry specific problems 

·   The aviation industry is struggling with severe labour shortages since Covid-19, exacerbated by the reliance on manual and inefficient processes.  

·    Aurrigo has developed six autonomous vehicles which can potentially reduce costs, resolve operational issues and tackle labour shortages for airports, whilst also improving sustainability.   

·     The Directors believe that there are limited alternatives to Aurrigo's end-to-end solutions.  

·  The Directors believe that Aurrigo's end-to-end solution including its planning software, suite of autonomous vehicles and fleet management system is a significant competitive advantage.  

 

Global opportunity with long term structural growth drivers 

·   The global transport industry is seeking to improve its processes, tackle workforce shortages and reduce the environmental impact of operations.   

·     The Directors believe these trends will increase demand for smart and sustainable solutions, offering significant future growth opportunities.  

·    Aurrigo's solutions will, in the opinion of the Directors, offer faster turnarounds for airlines, providing strong selling efficiencies as airlines look to replicate these and make demands of airports not utilising Aurrigo solutions. 

 

Strong relationships with leading customers and innovators 

·    Aurrigo has supplied leading Tier 1 suppliers and vehicle manufacturers for over 29 years, including Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, McLaren and Rolls Royce. Its consistent delivery of high quality products has built long-term customer relationships.  

·    Through developing autonomous vehicles specifically for the aviation industry, Aurrigo has engaged with British Airways, Changi Airport (Singapore), Gerald Ford International Airport (USA) and International Airlines Group.  

·    Aurrigo also has partnerships with prestigious brands such as Amazon Web Services, Thales and Vodafone as well as with academic institutions including the University of Warwick, University of Coventry and Aston University to further develop and validate its technology. 

·      Aurrigo's ability to attract high calibre customers and partners, in addition to the recent progress within its pipeline underpin the Board's confidence in its growth potential. 

 

Management team and Board expertise 

·    Aurrigo's established senior leadership team have extensive experience across automotive engineering and manufacturing, as well as the robotic and autonomous industries.  

·  Proven ability to grow the business, successfully developing new products and entering new geographies. 

·   The PLC Board further enhances the profile and credibility of the business and brings extensive experience of working within the automotive and aviation industries.  

 

Significant Addressable Market

The current methods of moving baggage, particularly from airport to airplane, rely mainly on diesel powered vehicles, with very little change over the past several decades. It has also remained a highly labour-intensive operation with limited investment in updating the established methodology and vehicles used.

 

According to the 2021 report published by Research and Markets (Global Airport Baggage Handling Market Report 2020-2025: Provision of End-to-End Solutions to Present New Growth Opportunities), the airport baggage handling market is poised for automation which will improve passenger experience and the efficiency of baggage handling operations of airports. As at 29 July 2022, the sector was estimated to grow to £12.3 billion per annum by 2027 with the Company's estimated serviceable available market at an estimated £2.57 billion per annum by 2027.

 

Reasons for admission and use of proceeds

The Directors believe that the Placing and Admission will provide capital for the Company's next stage of development. The net proceeds are intended to be used to:

 

·    Accelerate the growth of the Company's Aviation Technology division to deliver its target to provide baggage support operations to 22 airports by the end of 2026;

·      Scaling headcount at all levels, both in the UK and internationally, including hiring a dedicated Singapore-based team at Changi Airport;

·      Increase brand awareness to enhance the Company's profile;

·   Capitalise on its early mover advantage, through the deployment of Auto-Sim and Auto-Dolly, the Company's lead products; and

·      Continue product development and IP generation.

 

Board of Directors

Andrew Cornish - Non-Executive Chair 

Andrew is currently CEO of Middlesex County Cricket Club and previously CEO of Somerset County Cricket Club. However, it's in the aviation and automotive industries that Andrew has spent the majority of his career as CEO of Liverpool Airport Holdings Ltd, Executive Board member at Aer Lingus, and Managing Director and Group Board Director at Manchester Airport Group. Prior to aviation he was the Managing Director of Unipart's Automotive Division. His early career was spent at Eastman Kodak, the majority of which was internationally based, in various senior general management and marketing roles. Additionally, Andrew has held a number of Non-Executive and external roles including Ambassador for HRH The Prince of Wales at BITC, Member of ECB anti-corruption committee, Chair of Manchester Enterprise Academy and Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

 

David Keene - Chief Executive Officer

David has 39 years in the Automotive industry, including 29 years' ownership of Aurrigo. David graduated from Coventry University with a BSc. in Electronics Electrical Engineering and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (FIET) and the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA). David founded RDM Group, in 1993 after 11 years at Rover Group having started on the graduate recruitment and development program and leaving at senior management level. David is a founding member and sits on the board of the UK Automotive Council which has set the strategy for Automotive in the UK for the last 12 years and the board of Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) High Value Manufacturing Catapult. In 2016 David was awarded visiting Professor status at Coventry University in Autonomous Vehicles. David is regularly interviewed as an authority on automotive design and manufacturing as well as autonomous vehicle and systems development.

 

Ian Grubb - Chief Financial Officer

Ian joined Aurrigo as CFO in February 2022 and brings with him a wealth of financial and senior management experience. Ian has extensive accountancy experience from a broad spectrum of industries. A competent strategist capable of developing systems and people and can manage, motivate, train and develop a team in a highly pressurised and challenging work environment. His previous roles include, Leacy Classic Motor Group, Jupiter Marketing Limited and associated companies, fresh fruit and vegetable import and distribution group, THE Distribution Ltd - a business dealing in warehouse and distribution of home entertainment products, Holiday Hypermarket - a travel agency with 37 hypermarkets, Red Mill Snack Food Ltd and TSB plc. Ian trained at Touche Ross and progressed to audit manager in his 4 year term there.

 

Graham Keene - Corporate Development Officer

Graham has 37 years' experience across management services, production and finance in automotive and manufacturing. Graham has held both the manufacturing director role and CFO position at RDM Group for last 29 years. Previous roles included Royal Doulton 1986 - 1988 In their Management Services Section, Sandwell MBC 1988 - 1990 Business Process Development in the areas of contract tendering procedures and commercial management with the private sector, West Midlands Fire Service 1990 - 1991 organisational development for preventative maintenance procedures and cost restructuring associated with maintenance functions, Hereford and Worcester CC 1991 - 1995 organisational development including local government restructuring, organisational change management, financial management. Graham founded Richmond Design and Marketing Ltd (RDM Group) in Feb 1993 with David Keene.

 

Penelope (Penny) Coates - Non-Executive Director

Penny's executive career began in Manufacturing with Mars and then Walkers Snackfoods (PepsiCo), followed by Retail, first in strategy development at Boots then becoming a Director of various business units, and then of Own Brand for Asda (Walmart). Penny next moved into Airport management with the Manchester Airport Group as MD of Airports, Group COO and Main Board Director.

 

Transitioning to Non Executive Director and Trustee roles, Penny recently spent a year as interim Chair for the successful development phase of the East Midlands Freeport (from bid to the start of trading). Penny is now Deputy Chair of Chester Zoo, Advisor to the Councils of Birmingham (in relation to Birmingham Airport), a Non Executive Director of Supply Pilot, a Trustee of the National Forest and a Trustee of the National Space Centre. Penny is also a Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Leicestershire.

 

Penny has prior Non-Executive and advisory experience with the Airport Operators Association, AMP Capital (member of Luton Airport Board), The Cooperative Society, Loughborough University and Melton Building Society.

 

Joseph Elliott - Non-Executive Director

Joseph has considerable experience in the automotive industry and has previously been chairman of both SPA DIY Motor Stores and A1 Motor Stores. He is a director and trustee of Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust. Previously he served on the Society of Motor Manufactures Aftermarket Committee from 1990 to 2000 and was Coventry City Football Club Chairman in 2007. He ran his family firm, Elliott's car parts and accessories from 1959 to 2004 and has held numerous other roles including, Chairman and Director of A1 Motor Stores 1983-1991, Director Baby Lifeline Charity 1988-1996, Chairman Coventry Transport Museum 2003-2013, Director Culture of Coventry, 2013-present, Coventry City of Culture 2021 Development Board Director 2020-present and NSPCC Coventry Business Board 2011-2019 Director/Trustee.

 

Lewis Girdwood - Non-Executive Director

Lewis is currently CFO of Esken, a London stock exchange listed company who own Southend airport and provide GSE services to airports such as Manchester and have an energy company as part of the group. Lewis was appointed to Esken on 1 April 2019. Lewis previously served as CFO to IAG Cargo Limited, which provides global cargo services to British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and other IAG airlines. Prior to that, he was Head of Financial Planning and Analysis at easyJet, responsible for financial business partnering across the airline. Lewis has also held senior finance roles at Premier Foods PLC, British Bakeries Limited and Racal Electronics Group International. He is also a member of the Audit Committee of charity Tommy's.

 

A copy of the Admission Document will be available on the Company's website at www.aurrigo.com

 

Important notice

 

The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. Any purchase of the Company's shares on Admission should be made solely on the basis of the information contained in the Admission Document. No reliance may or should be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness. The information in this announcement is subject to change.

 

Certain figures contained in this announcement have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, in certain instances, the sum or percentage change of the numbers contained in this announcement may not conform exactly with the total figure given.

 

Forward-looking statements:

 

This announcement includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be, ''forward-looking statements''. These forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms ''believes'', ''estimates'', ''anticipates'', ''expects'', ''intends'', ''plans'', ''may'', ''will'' or ''should'' or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this announcement are forward-looking statements. They appear in a number of places throughout this announcement and include statements regarding the Directors' or the Group's intentions, beliefs or current expectations.

 

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and therefore are based on current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the Group's actual operating results and financial condition, and the development of the industry in which it operates may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement. In addition, even if the Group's operating results, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which the Group operates are consistent with the forward- looking statements contained in this announcement, those results or developments may not

be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods. Accordingly, prospective investors should not rely on these forward-looking statements.

 

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement. The Company and Singer Capital Markets expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto, any new information or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, unless required to do so by law or any appropriate regulatory authority.

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