RNS Number : 5413X
W.H. Ireland Group PLC
20 March 2026
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
20 March 2026
RECOMMENDED ACQUISITION
OF
W.H. IRELAND GROUP PLC (“WH IRELAND” OR THE “COMPANY”)
BY
TEAM PLC (“TEAM”)
to be implemented by means of a scheme of arrangement
pursuant to Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006
ISSUE OF EQUITY, PDMR DEALINGS AND RULE 2.9 ANNOUNCEMENT
On 27 November 2025, the boards of the Company and Team plc (“Team“) announced that they had reached agreement on the terms and conditions of a recommended offer for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of WH Ireland by Team (the “Acquisition“).
The Acquisition is to be implemented by way of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act (the “Scheme“). The scheme document in respect of the Acquisition was published and made available to WH Ireland Shareholders on 10 December 2025 (the “Scheme Document“). Capitalised terms used in this announcement (the “Announcement“) shall, unless otherwise defined, have the same meanings as set out in the Scheme Document.
Exercise of Share Awards
In connection with the Acquisition, and to satisfy options exercised by certain employees of WH Ireland under the WH Ireland Share Schemes, WH Ireland announces that following Court sanction of the Scheme as announced earlier today, it has applied for 6,887,682 ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the capital of WH Ireland (“Ordinary Shares“) to be admitted to trading on AIM (“Admission“) and that such shares are being issued to the trustee of the WH Ireland ESOT. Admission is expected to take place at 8.00 a.m. on 23 March 2026.
In order to satisfy the options exercised under the WH Ireland Share Schemes in connection with the Acquisition, 9,915,100 Ordinary Shares are being transferred to certain employees and former employees of WH Ireland by the trustee of the WH Ireland ESOT.
PDMR Dealings
The following individuals, who are PDMRs in the Company, will be in receipt of Ordinary Shares following an exercise of share awards:
| PDMR | Role | Current holding of Ordinary Shares | Ordinary Shares received pursuant to the Exercise | Enlarged Interest in the Company (No. Ordinary Shares) | Enlarged Interest in the Company (Percentage of Enlarged Issued Share capital) |
| Phillip Wale | Chief Executive Officer | 254,600* | 6,666,666 | 6,921,266 | 2.85% |
| Simon Jackson | Chief Finance Officer | Nil | 3,066,666 | 3,066,666 | 1.26% |
* Held through HSBC Global Custody Nominee (UK) Limited
Rule 2.9 and Total Voting Rights
In accordance with Rule 2.9 of the Code, WH Ireland confirms that, following Admission, WH Ireland will have 242,873,891 ordinary shares of 1 pence each in issue. This figure may be used by WH Ireland 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 Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The LEI for the Company is 213800HB9TO5O4WD6S66 and the ISIN for WH Ireland Shares is GB0009241885.
Words and expressions defined in the Scheme Document shall, unless the context provides otherwise, have the same meanings in this announcement. All references to times in this announcement are to London time unless stated otherwise.
Enquiries:
| W.H. Ireland Group plc Phillip Wale (Chief Executive Officer) Simon Jackson (Chief Finance Officer) | + 44 (0) 20 7220 1666 |
| Shore Capital (Financial Adviser and Rule 3 Adviser to WH Ireland) David Coaten / Oliver Jackson / Ansh Batura | + 44 (0) 207 408 4090 |
| Zeus Capital Limited (nominated adviser and broker to WH Ireland) Katy Mitchell / Harry Ansell / James Bavister | + 44 (0) 203 829 5000 |
| MHP (WH Ireland’s PR advisers) Reg Hoare | + 44 (0) 7831 406117 |
Shore Capital and Corporate Limited and Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited (either individually or collectively “Shore Capital“) which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, are acting exclusively for WH Ireland and for no-one else in connection with the Acquisition and will not be responsible to anyone other than WH Ireland, for providing the protections afforded to clients of Shore Capital, or for providing advice in relation to the Acquisition or any other matter referred to herein. Neither Shore Capital and Corporate Limited nor Shore Capital Stockbrokers Limited, nor any of their subsidiaries or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract, in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of Shore Capital in connection with this announcement, any statement contained herein or otherwise.
Disclosure requirements of the Takeover Code
Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Takeover Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person’s interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.
Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Takeover Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person’s interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror, save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.
If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3.
Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4).
Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Panel’s website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel’s Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.
Publication on websites
Pursuant to Rule 26.1 of the Takeover Code, a copy of this Announcement and other documents in connection with the Acquisition will be available free of charge, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, at Team’s and WH Ireland’s websites at www.teamplc.co.uk/investor-relations and https://www.whirelandplc.com/investor-relations respectively promptly following the publication of this Announcement and in any event by no later than 12 noon on the business day following this Announcement until the end of the Offer Period.
For the avoidance of doubt, the content of the websites referred to above is not incorporated into and does not form part of this Announcement.
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |
| a) | Name | Phillip Wale |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Chief Executive Officer |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial |
| 3 | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |
| a) | Name | W.H. Ireland Group plc |
| b) | LEI | 213800HB9TO5O4WD6S66 |
| 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 | Ordinary Shares of 1 pence each in W.H. Ireland Group plc |
| Identification code | GB0009241885 | |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Exercise of Share Options / Awards |
| c) | Price(s) and Volume(s) | PriceVolume(s)Nil6,666,666 |
| d) | Aggregated information | |
| – Aggregated volume | N/A – Single transaction | |
| – Price | ||
| e) | Date of the transaction | 20 March 2026 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | Off-market transaction |
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |
| a) | Name | Simon Jackson |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Chief Finance Officer |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial |
| 3 | Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor | |
| a) | Name | W.H. Ireland Group plc |
| b) | LEI | 213800HB9TO5O4WD6S66 |
| 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 | Ordinary Shares of 1 pence each in W.H. Ireland Group plc |
| Identification code | GB0009241885 | |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Exercise of Share Options / Awards |
| c) | Price(s) and Volume(s) | PriceVolume(s)Nil3,066,666 |
| d) | Aggregated information | |
| – Aggregated volume | N/A – Single transaction | |
| – Price | ||
| e) | Date of the transaction | 20 March 2026 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | Off-market transaction |
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