Issue of Equity and Directors' Shareholdings

CareTech Holdings PLC

("CareTech" or the "Company")

Issue of Equity and Directors' Shareholdings

CareTech Holdings PLC (AIM: CTH), a pioneering provider of specialist social care services in the UK, announces that on 29 March 2016 the Company issued a total of 1,919,000 new ordinary shares of 0.5p in the Company (the "New Ordinary Shares"), in connection with the Company's Executive Shared Ownership Plan 2016 (the "Share Plan"). The New Ordinary Shares will be jointly acquired by the employee benefit trust (managed independently by Computershare Trustees (Jersey) Limited) and award recipients, at the average market price as at 24 March 2016 of 247.5p.

Application has been made for the New Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission") and is expected to take place on 7 April 2016. The New Ordinary Shares will, when issued, rank equally in all respects with the existing ordinary shares and will represent approximately 2.99% per cent. of the entire issued share capital of the Company immediately following Admission.

The following Directors were granted awards under the Share Plan whereby each would acquire joint interests in the following numbers of the New Ordinary Shares:

In accordance with the Company's obligations in respect of DTR 3.1, John Ivers, COO, will also be awarded 300,000 of the New Ordinary Shares under the Share Plan.

An award under the Share Plan enables the participant to benefit only from the future growth in the value of the New Ordinary Shares above their market value on the award date, in excess of a "carrying cost" of 3% per annum. Awards are subject to performance conditions and participants may not normally realise any such benefit before 24 March 2019.

Award recipients, including Directors, will have voting rights in respect of the New Ordinary Shares should the Company's share price at a specified time prior to a shareholders' meeting be more than double that at the time of subscription. In such circumstances and assuming no other issuance by the Company except for the 2012 Share Plan, Haroon Sheikh and Farouq Sheikh and their connected persons would have a beneficial interest in 15,768,610 Ordinary Shares, representing 24.56% of the issued share capital of the Company (as enlarged by the Share Plan and the 2012 Share Plan). Other Directors would have a beneficial interest in 436,419 Ordinary Shares, representing 0.68% of the enlarged issued share capital.

For further information, please contact:

CareTech Holdings PLC

Farouq Sheikh, Executive Chairman

Michael Hill, Group Finance Director 01707 601 800

Buchanan (PR Adviser)

Mark Court

Sophie Cowles

Stephanie Watson 020 7466 5000

Panmure Gordon (Nomad and Joint Broker)

Fred Walsh

Peter Steel

Charles Leigh-Pemberton 020 7886 2500

WH Ireland (Joint Broker)

Adrian Hadden

James Bavister 020 7220 1666

About CareTech

CareTech Holdings plc is a pioneering provider of specialist social care services, supporting adults and children with a wide range of complex needs in more than 250 specialist services around the UK.

Committed to the highest standards of care and care governance, CareTech provides its innovative care pathways through five divisions covering adult learning disabilities, mental health, young people residential services, foster care and learning services.

CareTech, which was founded in 1993, began trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2005 under the ticker symbol CTH. Its freehold portfolio comprises more than 190 properties.

For further information please visit: www.caretech-uk.com.