Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2019

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Appointment of COO

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, is pleased to announce the appointment of Francisco Espinosa to the role of Chief Operating Officer to the Company in a non-Board capacity, with effect from the 1 October 2019. His role will be the executive management of all the operations of Fox Marble with specific emphasis on sales as Head of Sales worldwide, as well as the operational efficiency of the quarries and the factory.

Francisco has already visited the quarrying operations in Kosovo and Macedonia and spent time in the factory identifying areas of improvement. He is preparing a thorough strategic review in conjunction with Fox Marble’s recently appointed Senior Advisor, Don Nicolson.

Francisco has worked for Levantina Y Asociados de Minerales S.A.U., one of the largest stone companies in the world for 12 years, rising to the level of Chief Operating Officer.  Founded in 1959 and based in Spain, Levantina provides the much-famed crema marfil and emperador marble in over 100 countries around the world. In this role, Paco was responsible for 600 employees and accountable for seven factories (Marble, granite and ceramic).  He also holds an MBA from the European School of Business in Madrid. He has in previous times worked for Caterpillar, ITT Industries and ENEBE Sport Group.

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented

“Along with the appointment of Don Nicolson, Fox Marble is fortunate to have recruited Francisco to the role of COO thus rounding out the appointment of new members of the senior management team which will build on the achievements to date as the Company moves into a more mature phase in its development. The Company will benefit from his experience and expertise to develop and support its ambitions going forward and provide the resource to accomplish this.”

For more information on Fox Marble please visit www.foxmarble.net or contact:

Fox Marble Holdings plc  
Chris Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer
Fiona Hadfield, Finance Director
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380 0999

Brandon Hill Capital (Joint Broker)
Oliver Stansfield
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Optiva Securities (Joint Broker)
Christian Dennis / Jeremy King
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3981 4173

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
Liam Murray / Sandy Jamieson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble (AIM:FOX), is a marble production, processing and distribution company in Kosovo and the Balkans region.  

Its marble products include Alexandrian White, Alexandrian Blue, produced from the Company’s Prilep quarry in Macedonia, and Breccia Paridisea and Rosso Cait and Grigio Argento, produced from its quarries in Kosovo, are gaining traction globally both to international wholesale companies as well as being supplied directly into luxury residential properties.

In the UK these include among others St George’s Homes and Capital and Counties Plc’s Lillie Square development. In Sydney, Australia Rosso Cait, Alexandrian White and Breccia Paradisea marble have been used in what is expected to be Australia’s most expensive residential property. These sales serve to demonstrate the desirability of Fox’s premium marble products as the stone of choice in some of the most prestigious and expensive residential developments around the world. 

Marble demand continues to grow with stable pricing and Fox is capitalising on this growth internationally.

TR-1 Notification of major interest in shares

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Appointment of Senior Advisor

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region is pleased to announce the appointment of Don Nicolson to the role of Senior Advisor with immediate effect. He will provide advice on strategy, business planning and performance improvement. It is intended that Don will join the board of Fox Marble Holdings Plc as Vice Chairman and Non-Executive Director in due course providing increased capacity and capability to the business.

Don is a senior business leader with over 35 years’ experience in the extractive industries (oil, gas, mining and natural stone). He has held multiple Board and senior executive roles both in the UK and internationally. This included 26 years with BP where he ran oil and gas businesses in the UK, United States and Canada. Some of his key roles included being Director North Sea, Chief of Staff to BP CEO (E&P) and VP BP Alaska. He also has significant Board level experience in mining, both in the UK and South Africa including CEO and Executive Vice Chairman roles.

One of Don’s most recent roles was that of Chairman, and interim CEO of Levantina –The Natural Stone Company, headquartered in Spain. Levantina is a world leader in the quarrying, processing and marketing of natural stone. It is one of the largest companies in the sector, operates several quarries including El Coto, believed to be the largest Crema Marfil quarry in the world. The company distributes and markets natural stone products to multiple countries around the globe.

Andrew Allner, Chairman, commented

“We are very pleased to secure Don’s services for Fox Marble and look forward to benefitting from Don’s wide-ranging international Board and Executive skills, and in particular his Natural Stone industry experience and connections which will be of enormous relevance as we continue to grow the core business in addition to focusing on winning the recently announced €195 million law suit against the government of Kosovo in the relevant arbitration court in London.”

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014

For more information on Fox Marble please visit www.foxmarble.net or contact:

Fox Marble Holdings plc
Chris Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer
Fiona Hadfield, Finance Director
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380 0999

Brandon Hill Capital (Joint Broker)
Oliver Stansfield
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Optiva Securities (Joint Broker)
Christian Dennis / Jeremy King
Tel: +44 (0) 7712 620 936  

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
Liam Murray / Sandy Jamieson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble (AIM:FOX), is a marble production, processing and distribution company in Kosovo and the Balkans region.  

Its marble products including Alexandrian White, Alexandrian Blue, produced from the Company’s Prilep quarry in Macedonia, and Breccia Paridisea and Rosso Cait and Grigio Argento, produced from its quarries in Kosovo, are gaining traction globally both to international wholesale companies as well as being supplied directly into luxury residential properties.

In the UK these include among others St George’s Homes and Capital and Counties Plc’s Lillie Square development. In Sydney, Australia Rosso Cait, Alexandrian White and Breccia Paradisea marble have been used in what is expected to be Australia’s most expensive residential property. These sales serve to demonstrate the desirability of Fox’s premium marble products as the stone of choice in some of the most prestigious and expensive residential developments around the world. 

Marble demand continues to grow with stable pricing and Fox is capitalising on this growth internationally.

Fox Marble launches €195m international arbitration claim against the Republic of Kosovo

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and processing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, has today launched United National Commission on International Trade Law international (UNCITRAL) arbitration proceedings, against the Republic of Kosovo for damages in excess of €195 million, as a result of the failure of the State to protect Fox Marble’s rights over the Malesheva quarry.

The Company is represented by its legal advisers, Stephenson Harwood LLP, as well as its Kosovan lawyers.  As the Company believes the Kosovan Government to be in clear breach of its responsibilities towards the Company which is a foreign investor in Kosovo, the Company is of the opinion that this action is in the best interests of its shareholders and employees and anticipates a fair and satisfactory resolution.  

All the Company’s other operations, including the quarries and processing factory in Kosovo and the Prilep quarry in Northern Macedonia, are unaffected.

As was announced on 26 June 2019, the sellers of Green Power Sh.p.k (“Green Power”), the licence holding partner of Fox Marble’s Malesheva quarry, and Scope Sh.p.k (“Scope”) reneged on the agreement, announced on 4 April 2019, for Fox Marble to purchase these assets.

Since then Fox Marble has been working to resolve the dispute concerning the purchase of Green Power and Scope with the appropriate Kosovan Government agencies, namely the Kosovo mining regulator, the Independent Commission of Mines and Mineral (“ICMM”) and the Agjencia e Regjistrimit të Bizneseve (“ARBK”), the Kosovo business registration agency. However, in what is a clear breach of Kosovo Law 04/L-220 “On Foreign Investment” (2014), Fox Marble has been prevented from asserting its rights in these matters. This is a law that should provide extensive protection to foreign investors, such as Fox Marble, and promises even handedness in the treatment of foreign investors and local businesses.

The company has presented detailed evidence to the ICMM that it holds the relevant rights to grant develop, exploit and operate its Malesheva quarry to Fox Marble Kosova Sh.p.k (“FMK”), Fox Marble’s local subsidiary, which has been the case since 2015. However, as disclosed on 18 July 2019, operations at the Malesheva quarry were suspended. Numerous procedural and legal channels open to it in Kosovo to have failed to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

The company has also presented the ICMM with detailed evidence of its purchase of Green Power and Scope and shown that their owners had no basis to rescind the share purchase agreements.  Despite the cumulative weight of evidence, Fox Marble was denied the right to appeal any decision relating to the Malesheva quarry in direct contravention of the provisions of the Kosovo foreign investment law, Law 04 /L-220 as well as its own rules and procedures.

In parallel to its efforts with the ICMM, Fox Marble has made repeated attempts to register the transfer of ownership of Green Power and Scope at the ARBK.  This agency has the established authority to accept the valid share purchase agreements as evidence of ownership.  However, the ARBK has rejected Fox’s application to register the change of ownership in direct contravention of the provisions of the Kosovo foreign investment law.

As a direct consequence of the ARBK and ICMM decisions, the company has brought arbitration proceedings against the Republic of Kosovo pursuant to Article 16 of the Kosovo foreign investment law (as above). The basis of the claim for damages is the investment made to date in the Malesheva quarry, loss of future revenues associated with the site and future investment plans in Kosovo. Significant future investment plans are the subject of the MOU signed in October 2016 by the Government of Kosovo and Stone Alliance LLC which is majority owned by Fox Marble

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented,

“Fox Marble has always sought to work in partnership with Kosovo and its government. We have therefore taken this step with the greatest reluctance, but the current circumstances and decisions made have left us with no choice.  There has been a clear failure by the Kosovo government and its agencies to apply their own laws and regulation in a fair and equitable manner. It is beyond doubt that Fox Marble has a strong case.  I am confident that the claim will be decided in our favour and that the award obtained will protect our investment, our shareholders and show that Kosovo is a place where international businesses can invest.”

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014

For more information on Fox Marble please visit www.foxmarble.net or contact:

Fox Marble Holdings plc
Chris Gilbert, Chief Executive Officer
Fiona Hadfield, Finance Director
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380 0999

Brandon Hill Capital (Joint Broker)
Oliver Stansfield
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Optiva Securities (Joint Broker)
Christian Dennis/Jeremy King
Tel:+44 (0) 20 3137 1902

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
Liam Murray
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble (AIM: FOX), is a marble production, processing and distribution company in Kosovo and the Balkans region.  

Its marble products, which includes Illirico Bianco, Illirico Selene, Grigio Argento and are gaining sales globally both to international wholesale companies as well as being supplied directly into luxury residential properties. In the UK these include among others St George’s Homes and Capital and Counties Plc’s Lillie Square development. In Sydney, Australia Rosso Cait, Alexandrian White and Breccia Paradisea marble have been used in what is expected to be Australia’s most expensive residential property. These sales serve to demonstrate the desirability of Fox’s premium marble products as the stone of choice in some of the most prestigious and expensive residential developments around the world.