Temple in Abu Dhabi
05 June 2019
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 confirmation of its biggest single order for its prized Alexandrian White marble. This order has been placed by the Swaminarayan Hindu religious order who are building a temple in Abu Dhabi on land donated by the Royal family of the UAE. Construction of this monument will commence shortly now that the Foundation ceremony has taken place on the 20 April 2019.
Fox Marble will be providing bespoke cut to size marble varying in size from small blocks to large beams which will be shipped by the temple to India to be hand carved and shipped to the temple site and has received the schedule for the first shipment to be shaped and sent to India.
Fox Marble has received a minimum firm commitment for this material to be supplied during 2019 and 2020. The minimum value of this order will be $2.4m and Fox has received the first good faith deposit of $100,000 by way of confirmation.
The final timing of the delivery of this material will be subject to the construction schedule of the temple which is subject to change. Further announcements will be made in due course as to the progress of this project as material is actually shipped and paid for.
The marble that Fox is supplying is the same type that was used in the construction of the Sheik Zayad Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi extracted from the neighbouring quarry in Prilep and reflects the enduring appeal of this material.
Brahmavihari Swami commented
“We have been working hard to establish the BAPS Hindu Mandir temple in Abu Dhabi which is an iconic and historic temple which is a spiritual oasis of global harmony. While every acre and inch is being designed elegantly and meaningfully, the heart of the entire project will be done in your beautiful white marble. The entire interior of the stone temple will be intricately sculpted from your Alexandrian White and is the epicentre for our temple”
Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented
“We are privileged to be in partnership with the Swaminarayan religious order who have built over 1000 temples around the world. This temple will be the first such place of worship in the UAE and will be a monument for many generations to come.”
The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of 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
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380 0999
Fiona Hadfield, Finance Director
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7380 0999
Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)
Oliver Stansfield
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000
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, which includes Illirico Bianco, Illirico Selene, Grigio Argento and 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.
Fox Marble holds 40 year mining licences for six separate marble quarries with a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Fox has taken three of the six sites into production (the Drini and Maleshevë quarries, both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia) and continues to increase production. Notably, Fox has access to over 300 million cubic metres (over 1bn tons) of premium quality marble.
Marble demand continues to grow with stable pricing, predominantly driven by the construction and real-estate industries, on which Fox is looking to capitalise.
Caution regarding forward looking statements
Certain statements in this announcement, are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should" ''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''potentially'', "expect", ''will'' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.