CEO Share Purchase & Equity Incentive Plan Update
CEO exercised 3.15m share options and elected to take bonus as further options; equity plan amended.
- CEO shares acquired 3,150,000
- CEO shareholding after exercise 6,509,556 shares (0.21%)
- CEO bonus elected as share options 1,515,000 options
- Total LTIP share options granted to all participants 25,475,000
- LTIP share options now vesting 23,702,472
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Savannah Resources Plc, the developer of the Barroso Lithium Project (the 'Project') in Portugal, one of the European Commission’s ‘Strategic Projects’ under the Critical Raw Materials Act and Europe's largest spodumene lithium deposit, announces that its CEO, Emanuel Proença, has acquired 3,150,000 new ordinary shares of £0.01 each in the capital of the Company ("Shares") and been granted additional options over Shares (“Share Options”). The Company also announces certain amendments to its Equity Incentive Plan, which have resulted in the grant of additional Share Options to members of Savannah’s management team.
CEO Share purchase of 0.1% of Company’s Issued Share Capital
The acquisition of Shares by Mr Proença results from the exercise of 3,150,000 Nominal Cost Share Options. As a result, Mr Proença’s shareholding increases to 6,509,556 Shares, representing 0.21% of the Company’s Issued Share Capital.
CEO Elects to Receive Share Options in Lieu of cash bonus
In recognition of Mr Proença’s significant recent contribution to improving the overall risk profile of the Company and the Project, upon the recommendation of the Company’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee, he has been awarded a one-off bonus of €54,000. Mr Proença’s has elected to receive this bonus as 1,515,000 Nominal Cost Share Options in the Company, rather than as a cash payment. Reflecting the Company’s Short Term Incentive Plan (“STIP”) criteria, these Share Options will vest immediately and have a duration of five years.
Equity Incentive Plan Update
The Equity Incentive Plan is designed to align Savannah’s employees’ goals with the creation of long-term shareholder value, preserve the Company’s strong cash position and help Savannah to attract and retain talented individuals.
Upon the recommendation of the Company's Nomination and Remuneration Committee, it has implemented amendments to the vesting performance conditions of the Long Term Incentive Plan (‘LTIP’) component of the Equity Incentive Plan, such that the milestones are Phase 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (‘DFS’) completion (30%) and Final Investment Decision (‘FID’) (70%), with the performance bands adjusted for Threshold/Target/Stretch targets from 0%/75%/100% to 0%/100%/150% respectively for both LTIP and STIP (which is payable 50:50 in cash and Share Options). The changes reflect the key milestones within the LTIP’s effective period of 2025 to the end of 2027.
Bruce Griffin, the Chair of Savannah's Nomination and Remuneration Committee said: “The results of the Phase 1 DFS were very encouraging and demonstrate the Project’s robustness on all fronts, including its technical, environmental, financial and social aspects. Following this successful outcome, the team continue to work extremely hard to deliver the Project, with more key milestones on the horizon as we advance towards FID next year. The amendments to the Equity Incentive Plan have been made to keep it relevant to the Project’s development timetable, while appropriately incentivising Savannah’s key staff and aligning their targets with creating long term value for shareholders. All the Board and staff at Savannah are looking forward to the very exciting period which lies ahead for the Project and the Company.”
Table 1 below sets out the 23,702,472 Share Options which have now vested in relation to the Share Options linked to the aforementioned KPIs, the maximum additional quantity of Share Options (being 25,475,000 (at Stretch targets) available for grant, reflecting the changes to the modifications to the Threshold/Target/Stretch targets criteria.
Table 1 – Summary of LTIP Share Options (Linked to KPIs)
| Participant Role / Name | Previous Share Options Granted (KPI linked) | New Share Options Granted (KPI linked) | Total Share Options Granted (KPI linked) | Share Options Vesting (KPI linked) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO – Emanuel Proença | 18,650,000 | 9,325,000 | 27,975,000 | 8,392,500 |
| CFO – Henrique Freire | 11,000,000 | 5,500,000 | 16,500,000 | 4,950,000 |
| CCO – Michael McGarty | 10,200,000 | 5,100,000 | 15,300,000 | 4,590,000 |
| Other | 13,683,241 | 5,550,000 | 19,233,241 | 5,769,972 |
| Total | 53,533,241 | 25,475,000 | 79,008,241 | 23,702,472 |
Admission to trading on AIM
In addition to the 3,150,000 Share Options exercised by Mr Proenca, another employee has exercised 510,099 Nominal Cost Share Options, thus the total of Share Options being exercised is 3,660,099.
Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for admission of the 3,660,099 Shares (the “New Shares”) (“Admission”), which is expected to become effective and dealings in the New Shares on AIM will commence at 8.00 a.m. on 23 October 2026.
Total Voting Rights
Following Admission, the Company will have 3,126,175,013 Shares in issue. This figure of 3,126,175,013 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change of their interest in, the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
Regulatory Information
Savannah – Enabling Europe’s energy transition.
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PDMR Notification
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |
| a) | Name | Emanuel Proença |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Chief Executive Officer |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial notification |
| a) | Name | Savannah Resources Plc |
| b) | LEI | 213800UCK16HW5KKGP60 |
| a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code | Exercise of nominal cost Share Options of 1.0 pence ISIN: GB00B647W791 |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Exercise of options of 1.0 pence each in respect of the STIP component of the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan |
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) | Price(s) Volume(s) 1. 1.0 pence 3,150,000 |
| d) | Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price | 3,150,000 pence |
| e) | Date of the transaction(s) | 20 October 2026 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | Off-market transaction |
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |
| a) | Name | Emanuel Proença |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Chief Executive Officer |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial notification |
| a) | Name | Savannah Resources Plc |
| b) | LEI | 213800UCK16HW5KKGP60 |
| a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code | Grant of nominal cost Share Options of 1.0 pence ISIN: GB00B647W791 |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Grant of options of 1.0 pence each in respect of the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan. |
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) | Price(s) Volume(s) 1. 1.0 pence 1,515,000 |
| d) | Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price | 1,515,000 1.0 pence |
| e) | Date of the transaction(s) | 20 October 2026 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | Off-market transaction |
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |
| a) | Name | Emanuel Proença Henrique Freire Michael McGarty |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer Chief Corporate Officer |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial notification |
| a) | Name | Savannah Resources Plc |
| b) | LEI | 213800UCK16HW5KKGP60 |
| a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code | Grant of nominal cost Share Options of 1.0 pence ISIN: GB00B647W791 |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Grant of options of 1.0 pence each in respect of the LTIP component of the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan. |
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) | Price(s) Volume(s) 1. 1.0 pence 9,325,000 2. 1.0 pence 4,950,000 3. 1.0 pence 4,590,000 |
| d) | Aggregated information Aggregated volume Price | 19,925,000 1.0 pence |
| e) | Date of the transaction(s) | 20 October 2026 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | Off-market transaction |
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.