Employee Share Scheme & Director/PDMR Shareholding
Software Circle plc (AIM: SFT) granted 1,611,547 share options under its Save As You Earn scheme on August 19, 2025, representing 0.41% of total voting rights. This included 206,032 options granted to PDMRs and a PCA. The options have an exercise price of 28.5 pence per share and are exercisable between October 1, 2028, and March 31, 2029, after 36 monthly payments. Including previous grants, a total of 20,429,543 shares are now under option, representing 5.24% of total voting rights. The options granted to PDMRs were as follows: Gavin Cockerill (CEO) received 64,385 options; Iain Brown (CFO) received 64,385 options; Richard Lightfoot (Director & Company Secretary) received 64,385 options; and Ashley Cockerill (PCA) received 12,877 options, all at a price of 28.5p per share.
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Employee Share Scheme
Director/PDMR Shareholding
Software Circle (AIM: SFT) announces that it has granted share options ("Options") over ordinary shares of 1 penny each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") under the Company's Save as You Earn share scheme (the "Scheme") to certain employees and persons discharging managerial responsibilities ("PDMRs") and a Person Closely Associated to them ("PCA") who is also an employee.
A total of 58 employees elected to participate in the Scheme and, pursuant to this, a grant of 1,611,547 options over Ordinary Shares was made on 19 August 2025, equating to 0.41% per cent of the current total voting rights in the Company.
The figure set out above includes 206,032 Options granted pursuant to the Scheme to PDMRs and the PCA as set out in the FCA notification table, appended further below.
The Scheme was launched in January 2017 and offers employees the opportunity to participate in the future growth of the Company through the granting of share options.
The Scheme requires employees to commit to making a fixed regular payment of between £5 and £500 for 36 months. These instalments are paid into a savings account, operated by Lloyds Bank plc, held independently from the Company.
Eligible employees were invited to subscribe for options over Ordinary Shares with an exercise price of 28.5 pence per share, representing the closing mid‐market price of the Ordinary Shares on the day prior to the invitation to participate, which was made on 24 July 2025. The options have a savings contract start date of 1 October 2025 and are exercisable when all 36 payments have been made, between 1 October 2028 and 31 March 2029.
Following the above grant and including 2,666,664 options granted under the Company Share Option Plan ("CSOP") announced on 6 October 2023 and 16,151,332 options granted under the Share Option Plan ("SOP") announced on 22 December 2023, the total number of shares now under option is 20,429,543 equating to 5.24 per cent of the current total voting rights in the Company.
Gavin Cockerill, CEO, commented: "We are pleased that a good proportion of eligible employees have elected to participate in the Company's 2025 SAYE scheme. Employee share ownership is an important element of our culture, aligning the interests of colleagues with those of shareholders. We believe that broadening participation in ownership supports employee engagement and helps drive the Group's long-term growth."
| 2. | Reason for the Notification | |
| a) | Position/status | 1. PDMR (Chief Executive Officer) 2. PDMR (Chief Financial Officer) 3. PDMR (Director & Company Secretary) 4. Person Closely Associated with Gavin Cockerill (PDMR) |
| b) | Initial notification/Amendment | Initial Notification |
| a) | Name | Software Circle plc |
| b) | LEI | 213800OKTI2518K5KM22 |
| a) | Description of the Financial instrument, type of instrument | Ordinary shares of 1p each |
| Identification code | ISIN: GB0009638130 | |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Grant of options |
| b) | Price(s) and volume(s) | Price(s) Volume(s) 1. 28.5p 2. 28.5p 3. 28.5p 4. 28.5p 1. 64,385 2. 64,385 3. 64,385 4. 12,877 |
| d) | Aggregated information: - Aggregated volume - Price | N/A (single transactions) N/A (single transactions) |
| e) | Date of the transaction | 19 August 2025 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | Outside a trading venue |
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.