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Superdrug agreement, Placing & Retail Offer

16th Jun 2025 07:00

RNS Number : 9566M
SkinBioTherapeutics PLC
16 June 2025
 

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA OR JAPAN, OR ANY MEMBER STATE OF THE EEA, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE, OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON TO WHOM, TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OR BREACH OF ANY APPLICABLE LAW OR REGULATION. PLEASE SEE THE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 WHICH FORMS PART OF UK LAW BY VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018 ("UK MAR"). IN ADDITION, MARKET SOUNDINGS (AS DEFINED IN UK MAR) WERE TAKEN IN RESPECT OF CERTAIN OF THE MATTERS CONTAINED IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, WITH THE RESULT THAT CERTAIN PERSONS BECAME AWARE OF SUCH INSIDE INFORMATION, AS PERMITTED BY UK MAR. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THIS INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION.

 

SkinBioTherapeutics plc("SkinBioTherapeutics" or the "Group" or the "Company")

SkinBioTherapeutics signs exclusive commercial agreementwith Superdrug for AxisBiotix™ products in the UK

Placing and Subscription to raise £4.1m to support Superdrug agreement;Proposed Retail Offer to existing shareholders of up to £0.62m

AxisBiotix™-Ps Receives US National Psoriasis FoundationSeal of Recognition

 

16 June 2025 - SkinBioTherapeutics plc (AIM: SBTX), a life science group focused on skin health, announces that it has signed an exclusive UK commercial agreement with Superdrug Stores plc ("Superdrug") (the "Commercial Agreement"), one of the UK's leading beauty and health retailers, related to its AxisBiotix™ food supplements to alleviate the symptoms of inflammatory skin conditions.

In order to provide additional working capital to facilitate and support the Commercial Agreement and future formulation and packaging requirements, the Company has today raised £4.1m (gross) via a placing (the "Placing") and a subscription (the "Subscription") of 24,117,645 new ordinary shares of 1p (the "New Ordinary Shares") at 17 pence each (the "Issue Price"). The Issue Price represents no discount to the Company's closing bid-price on 13 June 2025 (being the last practicable day prior to the publication of this Announcement). The Placing is being made available to certain institutional investors, including Premier Miton. Under the terms of the Subscription David Brierwood (who currently holds 5.51% of the Company's ordinary shares) has subscribed for a total of £600,000 which equates to 3,529,411 New Ordinary Shares as part of the fundraising, at the Issue Price and at the same time as the Placing.

In addition, the Company is proposing a retail offer to all existing shareholders for up to 3,617,647 New Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price to raise up to an additional £615,000 (before expenses). Further details are set out below.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it has been granted Seal of Recognition by the US National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) and inclusion in its approved product directory - a most important industry validation for commercial traction in the USA.

 

Superdrug agreement

Superdrug is one of the UK's leading beauty and health retailers. The Commercial Agreement is on an exclusive basis for the sale of both AxisBiotix-Ps and AxisBiotix-Ac in Superdrug's UK stores for two years. This will be the first time AxisBiotix for acne has been made commercially available. SkinBioTherapeutics retains the worldwide rights to direct online retail sales of both products via the AxisBiotix website and Amazon.

The initial roll-out of both AxisBiotix products will occur in early September 2025 in Superdrug stores, which typically have higher sales of medicated skincare relative to the rest of its group. A phased roll-out to the rest of Superdrug's UK store portfolio is scheduled to commence in Spring 2026.

Given the extremely short lead time for manufacture and delivery of both products to meet the stringent launch deadline, they will initially be sold in powder form. However, the longer term intention is to deliver a capsule and/or gum format. SkinBioTherapeutics will be working on these new formulations and looks to acquire additional capital equipment for encapsulation and blister-packaging to keep this work in-house.

Stuart Ashman, CEO of SkinBioTherapeutics said:

"The commercial agreement with Superdrug is a major milestone as we sign our first national high street agreement. We have been in discussions for a considerable period of time to determine the right way to promote, package and roll-out both of the AxisBiotix products. Importantly, we retain the worldwide rights to sell the products ourselves directly online and via Amazon, and remain in control over how our products are promoted. We have a very tight timeframe to produce and deliver the stock required for launch and to ensure that we have sufficient levels going forward to avoid a back-order position."

 

US National Psoriasis Foundation ("NPF")

SkinBioTherapeutics has also been in active dialogue for some time with the NPF, the leading non-profit organisation representing individuals with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in the USA. The NPF has granted AxisBiotix-Ps Seal of Recognition and inclusion in its approved product directory Here.

According to the NPF, the Seal of Recognition "…highlights and recognizes products created or intended to be non-irritating and safe for those living with psoriatic disease. The directory specifically recognizes products that are safe as part of a daily skincare routine for sensitive skin or suitable for those with joint mobility limitations."

This official recognition is important industry validation of AxisBiotix™-Ps and opens up potential new markets for the product.

 

Placing and WRAP Retail Offer

In order to support the initial launch of AxisBiotix™ products with Superdrug this Autumn and to acquire the encapsulation and packaging equipment to support the development of a capsule format, the Board decided to undertake the Placing, thus allowing existing funds to continue to be deployed as envisaged in the other areas of the Group. The proceeds of the Placing will also be used for marketing purposes and to further raise brand awareness of AxisBiotix™.

In addition to the Placing and Subscription, the Company announces that there will be a separate retail offer to existing shareholders via the Winterflood Retail Access Platform ("WRAP") to raise up to £615,000 (before expenses) at the Issue Price (the "WRAP Retail Offer", and together with the Placing and the Subscription, the "Fundraising"). This represents 15% of the Placing and the Subscription and provides existing shareholders in the Company an opportunity to participate in the Fundraising.

Those investors who subscribe for new Ordinary Shares pursuant to the WRAP Retail Offer (the "WRAP Retail Offer Shares") will do so pursuant to the terms and conditions of the WRAP Retail Offer contained in a separate announcement to be released by the Company. The WRAP Retail Offer is subject to a minimum subscription of £100 per investor and will be open to existing shareholders of the Company within the United Kingdom. A separate announcement will be made by the Company regarding the WRAP Retail Offer and its terms in due course ("WRAP Retail Offer Announcement").

Those investors who subscribe for WRAP Retail Offer Shares pursuant to the WRAP Retail Offer will do so pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in the WRAP Retail Offer Announcement. The WRAP Retail Offer will be conditional on completion of the Placing but the Placing is not conditional upon completion of the WRAP Retail Offer. For the avoidance of doubt, the WRAP Retail Offer does not form part of the Placing.

The Placing, Subscription and the WRAP Retail Offer are being conducted using the existing authorities to issue and allot new ordinary shares for cash and disapply pre-emption rights, which the Directors were granted at the annual general meeting of the Company held on 27 December 2024.

It is expected that admission of the New Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Placing and Subscription to trading on AIM ("Admission") will occur and that dealings will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 24 June 2025. These New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the Company's existing ordinary shares. The New Ordinary Shares are equivalent to approximately 9.34 per cent. of the Company's enlarged issued share capital (ignoring any New Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the WRAP Retail Offer).

In due course, an application will be made for any New Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to the WRAP Retail Offer to be admitted to trading on AIM.

 

Total Voting Rights

Following Admission, the Company will have 258,192,272 Ordinary Shares in issue and no ordinary Shares in treasury. Therefore, the total voting rights in the Company will be 258,192,272.

This figure may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they may determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or any change to their interest in, the Company under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

A further announcement will be made on Total Voting Rights following the close of the Retail Offer.

 

Stuart Ashman, CEO of SkinBioTherapeutics concluded:

"Our intention was not to return to the market since we had sufficient cash for working capital into next year. However, we saw the value building opportunity of signing this Superdrug agreement earlier than expected, and to create a capsule and/or gum version of AxisBiotix™ ourselves; these factors were too important to jeopardise. The Placing raises sufficient working capital to cover the launch stock and meet the very tight deadline for delivery as well as the development of the next generation of capsules and gum. However, we were also aware that our current shareholders might wish to participate too, hence the Open Offer.

He added: "Overall, the Superdrug AxisBiotix™ commercial agreement coupled with the recognition from the US's National Psoriasis Foundation raises the profile of this pillar of products significantly on both the national high street and the international stage with other potential partners. We see both events as important factors in building shareholder value further, and we are most grateful for the investor support we have received to date."

"In keeping with our standard practice we will be issuing an unaudited year-end trading update once we have closed off the June and consolidated year-end numbers."

 

Investor presentation

SkinBioTherapeutics will hold a presentation for shareholders once the Open Offer has closed, via the Investor Meet Company platform. The presentation will be open to all existing and potential SkinBioTherapeutics shareholders.

Once the timing of the presentation has been finalised, investors who already follow SkinBioTherapeutics on the Investor Meet Company platform will automatically be invited. Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free Here.

 

-Ends-

For more information please contact:

 

SkinBioTherapeutics plc

Stuart J. Ashman, CEOSimon Hewitson, COO

 

+44 (0) 191 495 7325

 

Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser & Broker)

Philip Davies

Sam Butcher

Patrick Weaver

 

+44 (0) 020 7496 3000

 

Vigo Consulting (financial press)

Rozi Morris

 

+44 (0) 20 7390 0230

[email protected]

 

 

Notes to Editors

About SkinBioTherapeutics plc

SkinBioTherapeutics is a life science company focused on skin health. The Group's proprietary platform technology, SkinBiotix®, is based upon discoveries made by the translational dermatology team at the University of Manchester.

The Group's foundation business is targeting the skin healthcare market via five pillars, the most advanced of which are cosmetic skincare (SkinBiotix) and food supplements that harness the gut-skin axis (AxisBiotix). The cosmetic pillar has a partnership with Croda plc and the Group's first in-house product, AxisBiotix-Ps™, a food supplement to alleviate the symptoms of inflammatory skin conditions, is sold directly and via Amazon.

The Group is also acting as a consolidator and is making acquisitions in complementary areas such as skin care and cosmetic applications, that also bring new distribution and geographical platforms, and manufacturing capabilities through which it can funnel its in-house pillar products. 

The Company listed on AIM in April 2017 and is based in Newcastle, UK. For more information, visit: www.skinbiotherapeutics.com.

 

About Superdrug

Superdrug is one of the UK's leading health and beauty retailers operating in the UK and Republic of Ireland, offering a wide range of products and services, including in-store pharmacies and online doctor services. Superdrug is owned by AS Watson Group, a global health and beauty retailer. For more information, please visit the website: www.superdrug.com

 

About the National Psoriasis Foundation

The NPF serves more than 3 million people annually through patient and professional health education and advocacy initiatives, and has funded more than $10 million in psoriatic disease research grants and fellowships. The mission of NPF is to drive efforts to cure psoriatic disease and improve the lives of more than 8 million individuals in the United States affected by this chronic immune-mediated disease. Learn more at www.psoriasis.org.

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