Resumption of production in Northern Macedonia and new sales

5 March 2019

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

• Commercial extraction resumed of Alexandrian marble from Prilep Quarry.

• 400 tonne order of Alexandrian white completed and paid for in February 2019.

• New equipment deployed in quarry to increase production.

Fox Marble is pleased to announce the resumption of production after the usual winter shut down in our Prilep quarry in Northern Macedonia. The quarry, which contains white marble marketed as Alexandrian White, is now also producing substantial quantities of Alexandrian Blue from a newly developed section on the east side of the site. The quarry is expected to benefit from the deployment of additional equipment to significantly increase production levels to satisfy growing demand.

In February Fox Marble sold, and received payment for, 400 tonnes of Alexandrian White blocks to a new customer.  The customer is shipping these blocks to their facility in Drama in Northern Greece for processing. This customer was responsible for supplying similar material to the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi and has indicated their intention to purchase additional quantities of this marble on a regular basis throughout the year.

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented

“This large volume block order to a new customer so early in the year following the winter break is an encouraging sign for the upcoming year. The customer, who has a long history of selling material from the Prilep area throughout the world, has indicated an intent to buy further quantities of this material throughout 2019.  The increase in monthly production at this quarry, following the investment made in equipment and resourcing, gives us the ability to supply more significant orders having developed robust markets for our stone worldwide”.

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

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.

Operating Update and Issue of Shares

7 February 2019

Fox Marble Holdings plc

(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Operating Update and Issue of Shares

·         Unaudited sales for the year ended 31 December 2018 of c. €1.4 million, (2017 – c. €1.2million).

·         Production for the year ended 31 December 2018 of 12,561 tonnes (2017 – 8,811 tonnes) driven by an increase in production in Prilep in the last quarter of the year, not yet reflected in sales. 

·         Fundraising completed raising £2 million with the funds planned to increase capital equipment at the quarries in order to expand production and meet the confirmed demand for material in 2019. 

·         Block order book from existing customers for the year ended 31 December 2019 of around €3 million.

Operating Update

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, is pleased to provide the following operational update ahead of the publication of its preliminary results for year ended 31 December 2018 which are anticipated to be notified in May 2019.

Sales

Unaudited sales for the year ended 2018 were c. €1.4 million, with a further €0.3 million in advances which have not yet been recognised in sales. Whilst sales growth has not been as strong as expected, this has been driven by lower than expected quarry production volumes in Maleshevë.  The demand for our Illirico Selene marble is currently outpacing production. We have seen encouraging signs in the development of our customer base, with a core of recurring block sale customers, with steady and regular demand for our material. We expect these customers to form the backbone of expected revenues in 2019.

·         In 2018, the Company has seen its first significant orders from China. A single Chinese customer has purchased and paid for 894 tonnes of Illirico Selene in three separate shipments.  This customer has confirmed it wishes to take 300 tonnes of this material each month for the next 12 months.

·         Turkey continues to be a consistent market for the Company, with over 1,200 tonnes of material sold in 2018. The customer has confirmed its expected demand in 2019 will be increased to 2,000 tonnes. 

·         In January 2019, the Company announced that it had started production of a new material at the Prilep quarry called Alexandrian Blue.  The new material has dense blue grey banding with smaller bands of white which produce a marked blue tone and is akin to the highly desirable Zebrino marble from Northern Italy.  This new material will be quarried alongside Alexandrian White which is already in commercial production at the quarry.  Fox Marble sold, and received payment for, 441 tonnes of Alexandrian Blue extracted in December 2018 to a single customer. Following this order, the Company entered into a sales agreement with this customer to purchase Alexandrian Blue with an expected value in excess of €1 million over the next twelve months. The same customer has confirmed its intention to purchase 3,500 tonnes of Illirico Selene. 

·         In 2018, the Company has established an office in Dubai to service the Gulf Cooperation Council region and has entered into a forward purchase agreement for processed marble including a $500,000 advance. The Company completed two large cut-to-size orders to a client in the UAE at the end of 2018, including the production of 50,000 10 cm x 10 cm tiles, which were secured via our new Dubai office.

Quarry Production

Our focus has continued to be on the Maleshevë quarry in Kosovo and Prilep quarry in Macedonia.  Total production has increased to 12,561 tonnes, a 42% increase since 2017. 

Production at the Maleshevë quarry, which produces the Illirico Bianco and Illirico Selene stone was 7,278 tonnes (2017 – 6,526 tonnes). This was below the Company’s expectations for the year, particularly in relation to the second half of 2018. The Company intends to make a significant investment in capital equipment in order to address the production shortfall and meet demand for these types of stone.  

In Prilep, the introduction of a new quarry team at the site in November 2018 increased the total production for the quarry to 5,282 tonnes (2017 - 2,285 tonnes). This 130% increase in production was achieved primarily in the last six weeks of the year, and provides an encouraging outlook for 2019 production at this quarry. The Company is also intending to invest in capital equipment in this quarry.

Factory

2018 was a transformative year for our factory.  With full slab production operational from the end Q3 2017, 2018 was focused on meeting growing demand for cut to size stone in addition to finished slabs.  The Italian Gravellona Machine Marmo Computer Numerical Control (“CNC”) machine was installed in March 2018 and was very quickly producing its first tiles for export.  Since then, cut to size capacity has been increased with the purchase of four bridge saws, two edge polishers, a cylinder (column) milling machine and a dedicated tile polishing line which will become operational in Q1 2019.  Operating processes have been consistently refined and the factory is now operating two full shifts year round.

The factory has been showcased as a key example of the benefits of investment in Kosovo and visited by various dignitaries including the Prime Minister of Kosovo, HE Ramush Haradinaj, the British Ambassador, Ruairi O’Connell and the Chairman of the Kosovo All Parties Parliamentary Group from Westminster, Martin Vickers MP.

Outlook for 2019

The investment in capital equipment is expected to significantly increase production, and allow further development of both major quarries. Currently the Company has confirmed orders from existing customers of approximately 16,000 tonnes of block material with anticipated gross revenue value of around €3 million for the year end 31 December 2019. 

Fox Marble does not expect to be significantly impacted by the expected departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, due to the location of its operations and the majority of its customer base being located outside the European Union. The Board will continue to monitor the situation in order to address and mitigate associated risks as they arise. 

Issue of shares and convertible loan notes

Fox Marble has issued 13,263,161 new ordinary shares in the Company (“New Ordinary Shares”) at 9.5p per share. Gross proceeds of this issue of equity amounts to £1,260,000. The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares.  Admission to AIM of the New Ordinary Shares will occur on or around 12 February 2019.

Fox Marble has issued a further £700,000 in Convertible Loan Notes under the same terms as existing Loan Notes issued by the Company. The Convertible Loan Notes will carry an interest rate of 8%, per annum. The Convertible Loan Notes are due for conversion or repayment on 4 February 2022 with a conversion price set at 10.5p.

Proceeds from the issue of shares are intended to be used to fund capital equipment at the Fox Marble’s quarry sites to expand production capabilities to supply increased demand for material in 2019.

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented “Our efforts in marketing our material globally are bearing fruit as we develop our markets in India, China Turkey and Italy.  We have repeat orders from multiple customers, ordering marble principally from our quarries in Prilep in Macedonia and Maleshevë in Kosovo. We have generated significant demand for our product, as such we are increasing our investment in these two quarries to increase our production capacity and grow revenues.  I expect this trend to continue this year and look forward to being able to report that Fox Marble has a stable and growing customer base with increasing revenues across the Group.

Our factory is now capable of processing a full range of marble products. We look forward to the sales of processed marble increasingly contributing to the bottom line throughout the year.

I expect to be advising the market of further sales as a result of our continuing focus on marketing selling and distributing our highly desirable premium quality stone throughout the world. Our new offices in Dubai and Mumbai will contribute to this momentum going forward.”

Total Voting Rights

In accordance with Rule 5.6.1 of the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules of the Financial Services Authority ("DTRs"), the Company's issued share capital at 12 February 2019 will consist of 231,148,483 ordinary shares of 1 pence each. The Company does not hold any ordinary shares in treasury. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 231,148,483.

The above figure of 231,148,483 may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the DTRs.

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.

New Material and Order

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

• Commercial extraction commenced of Alexandrian Blue marble from Prilep Quarry.

• 441 tonne order of Alexandrian Blue completed and paid in December 2018.

• Sales agreement entered into with an indicative value in excess of €1 million.

Fox Marble announces the start of commercial extraction of Alexandrian Blue from our Prilep quarry in Northern Macedonia.  Alexandrian Blue has dense blue grey banding with smaller bands of white which produce a marked blue tone and is akin to the highly desirable Zebrino marble from Northern Italy.   The quarry, which is already producing the highly sought after white marble marketed as Alexandrian White, is now also producing substantial quantities of Alexandrian Blue from a newly developed section on the East side of the quarry.

Fox Marble sold, and received payment for, 441 tonnes of Alexandrian Blue extracted in December 2018 to a single customer. This material compliments the Alexandrian White from the same quarry, as well as the highly popular Illirico Selene from the Maleshevë quarry in Kosovo.

Following this order, the Company entered into a sales agreement with this customer to purchase Alexandrian Blue with an expected value in excess of €1 million over the next twelve months. 

Under this sale and purchase deed the Company agrees to supply a minimum monthly quantity of Alexandrian Blue blocks for a 12 month period, commencing 16 January 2019.  The indicative value of the agreement is dependent upon the company making available sufficient material to the client to meet the minimum monthly commitment.

Fox Marble is now focussing on penetrating the markets in Italy, India, China, Turkey and Dubai where it has established a base with its most popular marbles, the Alexandrian White and Illirico Selene, with material from the Cervenilla quarry including Argento Grey, Rosso Cait and Flora, and Syriganë quarry which contains Breccia Paradisea and Etrusco Dorato. 

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented

“Orders of our premium material are gaining traction and we expect to see growth in our sales in 2019. This will produce a corresponding increase in our revenues during the year as a result, and l look forward to updating the market accordingly”.

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.

Establishment of new Dubai office

11 December 2018

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 establishment of an office in the United Arab Emirates with the formation of Fox Marble FZC a company based in a free trade zone area in Dubai and confirmation of the first orders via this operation.

Deposits have been received for two orders of marble totalling in excess of 1,000 square metres of Alexandrian white. The first order is for 500 square metres of cut to size tiles currently being processed in Fox Marble’s factory in Kosovo and due to be shipped within the next 10 days. The second order is for 450 square metres of slabs of Alexandrian white marble and 50 square metres of slabs in total comprising Illirico Selene, Grigio Argento, Rosso Cait, Breccia Paradisea and Flora which are being shipped to a new customer in Dubai prior to the end of the year

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented

“Our new office in Dubai is already proving to be effective in establishing our premium material in the region from which orders are currently being processed to large local customers.  It is worth noting that the first order is for an unusual size of tile – being 10cm x 10 cm x 2 cm whose small dimensions involves producing 50,000 pieces for this one order, which thanks to our tile processing equipment we are able to manage with ease.

We expect to see a significant level of business developing in the region as a result, and look forward to updating the market accordingly in the near future”

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

Jo Turner

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.

Operational Update

31 July 2018

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 provide the following operational update ahead of the publication of its unaudited interim results for 6 months to 30 June 2018 which are anticipated to be notified on 25 September 2018.

Sales for the six months to 30 June 2018 are €614,000 (2017 - €329,000), a significant increase compared with the same period in the previous year. In addition, the Company has started the second half of the year strongly and expects to see continued good revenue growth through the balance of the year.

The newly installed state-of-the-art Computer Numerical Control (“CNC”) machine has allowed the company to expand its cut to size and shape capabilities for its own marble. The machine is capable of automatically processing many varied shapes and thicknesses of material from slabs to small blocks, including 1,500 square metres of marble tiles per day. The CNC machine was supplied by Gravellona Machine Marmo, one of the leading manufacturers of dimensional stone cutting and polishing machinery based in Northern Italy. The machine is the only one of its kind in the Balkans.

This has allowed the Company to win and complete several large bespoke cut to size tile orders in the first half of this year, including:

• 3,000 square metres of “cut-to-size” Alexandrian White tiles to a large manufacture in Greece, Rekalis G Gregarios Marble. This order consists of more than 8,000 tiles, each measuring 60x60 cm and weighing 250 tonnes in total.

• 7,500 square metres of “cut-to-size” 60cm x 60cm Alexandrian White tiles to large scale retailer based in Mumbai in India.

Following additional capital expenditure, new equipment has been delivered to the quarries, and despite an extended winter break arising from a late thaw, production was an encouraging 5,429 tonnes over the 6 months to June 2018 (2017 – 3,817 tonnes). We expect production levels to continue to improve over the remainder of 2018. 

Sales of block marble are again focused primarily on Illirico Selene and Alexandrian White material. 

Fox is pleased to announce that in July it sold 300 tonnes of its Illirico Selene marble to a new Chinese customer following a visit to the quarry site. The customer has indicated their intention to take a further 300 tonnes of this material each month for the next 12 months. This is the first significant order from China and represents a breakthrough in that market. Fox understands that this material is for a project that its customer is supplying and will require a minimum of 5,000 tonnes to complete the project.

In June 2018 the Company announced that it had completed the delivery of over 2,000 tonnes of marble to Simsekler Mermer Company (“Simsekler”) with Fox Marble supplying 850 tonnes of marble to Simsekler in the current year, thereby fulfilling the original agreement. Simsekler’s latest purchase of over 600 tonnes of block marble represents the largest single order that the Company has completed since it opened its quarries in 2012. Fox Marble is now well placed to meet the demand for an additional minimum quantity of 2,000 tonnes.

The Company has recently opened a new showroom for its material in London. The showroom exhibits slabs from the complete range of Fox Marble stone, including Illirico Selene, Illirico Bianco, Rosso Cait, Breccia Paradisea, and Alexandrian White. It is intended that the showroom will support the marketing of material to projects in the United Kingdom and Northern Europe.

The showroom is conveniently located for European sales being less than 10 miles from Heathrow Airport and 35 miles from Stanstead Airport. Located at 2 Courtenay Road, East Lane, Wembley HA9 7ND, it is also very close to North Wembley Station, and can be visited by appointment. 

In addition, a natural stone cleansing plinth designed by Studio Juju and carved from Fox Marble stone was recently featured in an exhibition by Wallpaper which toured the Far East. The altar was carved from a single block of Alexandrian White marble, whose fine dolomitic structure lends itself to intricate carving, and featured one raised and one sunken basin.

The strong demand for the Company’s range of white and grey stone has lead to the need for additional capital expenditure to increase production in the quarries as well as to finance increased working capital requirements now that the factory is operating at higher capacity.

The Company is pleased to announce that the holders of the series 3 and 5 Loan notes have subscribed for an additional £300,000 of Loan notes on the same terms as previously announced.

The Company’s cash balance as at 27 July 2018 amounted to €289,000.

Chris Gilbert, CEO of Fox Marble, commented:

“We are pleased to update the market on the progress made in the first half of this year. Additional capital expenditure and the installation of new machinery has enhanced our production and processing capabilities, enabling us to complete and win a number of new sales orders. As we move into the second half of the year our focus will remain on capitalising on growth, increasing our capacity and enhancing our product range in order to strengthen our position in the market.”

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

Jo Turner

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Yellow Jersey PR (PR & IR)

Georgia Colkin

Katie Bairsto

Tel: +44 (0) 7825 916 715

Tel: +44 (0) 7946 424 651

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 tonnes) 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.

Completion of Order to Turkey

28 June 2018

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 that it has completed the delivery of over 2,000 tonnes of marble to Simsekler Mermer Company (“Simsekler”). 

In the current year, Fox Marble has supplied 850 tonnes of marble to Simsekler,  thereby fulfilling the original agreement for 2,000 tonnes, with Simsekler’s latest purchase of over 600 tonnes of block marble representing the largest single order that the Company has completed since it opened its quarries in 2012. Fox Marble is now well placed to meet the demand for an additional minimum quantity of 2,000 tonnes over the course of 2018.

Simsekler owns nine marble quarries in Turkey, in addition to three factories, two showrooms, and its warehouses located in both Ankara and Istanbul. Fox Marble anticipates that Simsekler will remain a significant customer for Fox Marble for the remainder of 2018 and beyond.

Chris Gilbert, CEO of Fox Marble, commented:

“The completion of this milestone underlines the progress that the Company has made in its ability to identify, win and successfully complete large scale sales agreements. Fox Marble looks forward to supplying further material to Simsekler, and to establishing an ongoing commercial relationship with the company.”

Fox Marble intends to release a trading update at the end of July.

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

Jo Turner

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Yellow Jersey PR (PR & IR)

Georgia Colkin

Katie Bairsto

Tel: +44 (0) 7825 916 715

Tel: +44 (0) 7946 424 651

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.

Installation of CNC machine and block vacuum pump machine in Kosovo factory

Monday 16 April 2018

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble” or the “Company”)

Fox Marble (AIM: FOX), the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, is pleased to announce that it has installed a new state-of-the-art Computer Numerical Control (“CNC”) machine and a block vacuum pump machine in the Company’s processing factory in Pristine, Kosovo. These additions to the new marble processing factory will provide additional capacity to meet increased order flow and improve margins.

The brand new, CNC machine is capable of automatically processing many varied shapes of material from slabs and small blocks, including 1,500 square metres of marble tiles per day. The machine is fully operational and has just manufactured the Company’s first order in which the whole process has been completed in house for “cut-to-size” tiles. Currently the only one of its kind throughout the Balkans and Greece, the CNC machine has been supplied by Gravellona Macchine Marmo, one of the leading manufacturers of cutting and polishing machinery based in Northern Italy.

In addition, Fox Marble has just completed the installation of a block vacuum pump machine, which is a more cost-effective way of adding to the inventory of marble blocks eligible for sale. This machine allows resin to be absorbed by blocks that have micro-cracks or fractures in them. As a result, the machine will improve the yield achievable from the quarries and increase the pricing of blocks which would otherwise have been considered lower quality.

Chris Gilbert, CEO of Fox Marble, commented:  

“Our fully operational factory now has the additional capability to process material-to-order at speed. We are confident that the cost effectiveness, flexibility and improved sophistication in our processing, delivered by this machinery, will impact positively on margins in the current year.

The installation of this new machinery also allows us to more effectively access the local market for tiles and “cut-to-size” orders, as well as servicing our international customers.”

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

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Yellow Jersey PR (PR & IR)

Georgia Colkin

Katie Bairsto

Tel: +44 (0) 7825 916 715

Tel: +44 (0) 7946 424 651

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 Illyrico 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 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.

Further sales under the previously announced agreement with Simsekler Mermer and first entry into the USA market

 23 November 2017

Fox Marble Holdings plc
(“Fox Marble”, “Fox” or the “Company”)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Further sales under the previously announced Agreement with Simsekler Mermer Company (“Simsekler”), a premier natural stone group based in Turkey

• First entry this year into the USA market for material processed in the Fox Marble factory

Fox Marble, the AIM listed company focused on marble quarrying and finishing in Kosovo and the Balkans region, is pleased to announce that it has made further shipments under its Agreement with Simsekler. To date, Fox has shipped more than €200,000 of marble to the company, as part of the sales Agreement for a minimum of €400,000, signed in April 2017.

Furthermore, the Company also announces today that it has shipped and received payment on an order from Granite Planet LLC (“Granite Planet”).  Granite Planet, a company specialising in the wholesale, fabrication and installation of marble and granite, based in Michigan, USA., selected 230 sqm of marble slabs across Fox’s entire collection following an inspection of the Company’s newly operational factory and processing capabilities.   The company, which is in the process of ordering two further containers this month, has indicated their intention to purchase a further six containers of marble prior to the end of 2017.

Fox Marble, CEO Chris Gilbert, commented:

“We believe that the recent purchase of marble made by Simsekler clearly demonstrates and reinforces Fox’s ability to satisfy large volume block agreements. In addition, the order placed by Granite Planet LLC is not only testament to the quality of marble products we are able to produce, but it also represents an important new sales channel for the Company into the United States, from which we anticipate future orders.”

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 (Joint Broker)

Oliver Stansfield

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)

Liam Murray

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Beaufort Securities Limited (Joint Broker)

Elliott Hance

Tel: +44 (0) 207 382 8300

Yellow Jersey

Georgia Colkin

Katie Bairsto

Tel: +44 (0) 7825 916 715

Tel: +44 (0) 7946 424 651

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 Illyric White, 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 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.

First consignment of polished marble to Marble Dino, Kosovo

AIM: FOX
25 October 2017

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, announces that it has completed its first sale of polished marble slabs from its newly operational factory in Lipjan, Kosovo.  The material was purchased by Marble Dino Sh.p.k. a division of a large, local construction company in Kosovo.

As announced on the 29 June 2016, the Company signed an agreement with Marble Dino Sh.p.k. in June 2016 for the supply of €1,500,000 worth of resined and polished marble over a twelve month period from the date the factory became operational.  Marble Dino is a trader of marble and other commodities and is involved in the purchase, shipping and resale of the material in the Kosovo and the Balkans.  The first consignment of just over 13 tonnes of polished slabs of Bianco Illirico and Illirico Selene material was collected from the factory site by Marble Dino on the 24 October 2017.   The Company expects to continue delivering marble against the agreement over the remainder of 2017 and the 2018 financial years.

Further orders are being prepared in Fox Marble’s factory for delivery to the local Kosovo and Balkans market and other international customers.  

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented:

“Our fully operational factory gives Fox Marble access to a wider market for its processed material, and contributes to the continuing progress of the Company in 2017 and future years.”

A short video showing the operation of the polishing line is available on our website at https://www.foxmarble.net/photos-and-videos/

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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)
Liam Murray
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0880

Brandon Hill Capital (Joint Broker)
Oliver Stansfield
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Beaufort Securities Limited (Joint Broker)
Elliott Hance
Tel: +44 (0) 207 382 8300

Yellow Jersey
Felicity Winkles
Georgia Colkin
Katie Bairsto

Tel: +44 (0) 7748 843 871
Tel: +44 (0) 7825 916 715
Tel: +44 (0) 7946 424 651

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 Illyric White, 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 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.

Fox Marble signs a Memorandum of Understanding with Pristine Stone NYC LLC

AIM:  FOX
10 August 2017

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 it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pristine Stone  NYC LLC (“Pristine Stone”) in New York, a natural stone importer and distributor in the USA, to establish a new distribution outlet for Fox Marble products in the United States.  

Under the three year agreement, Fox Marble will take a 5% share in Pristine Stone for nil consideration.  Pristine Stone will act as a marketing, sales and distribution agent for the marble material produced by the Company from its quarries in Kosovo and Macedonia.  The marble supplied to Pristine Stone will be cut and polished into slabs and tiles at Fox Marble’s own facility in Lipjan, Kosovo, before being shipped to the United States.

 In consideration, and subject to achieving minimum sales volumes of US$1.5 million over the three years as determined by the Company,

a)       Pristine Stone will be granted priority rights to sell Fox Marble material in the United States.

b)      Pristine Stone will be granted 750,000 warrants issued in equal instalments over three years at an exercise price of 2p over market price on the day of issue.

Pristine Stone is a New York based importer and distributor of natural stones, featuring the Kosovan marble sourced through Fox Marble.  The management has over twenty years' experience in the stone industry including sales, fabrication, and installation.  Pristine Stone will serve as a primary distributor for Fox Marble as the company looks to grow its presence in the United States with a team that has the ability to sell this unique, high quality marble into the largest end market for slabs in the world.  Pristine's founding principals Frank Kaloshi and Tim Seymour have built a company that leverages the combined expertise of Mr. Kaloshi in the high end marble market, and Mr. Seymour as a well-known financial market participant, and long-time successful investor in Eastern European companies focused in the materials sector.

Chris Gilbert, Chief Executive of Fox Marble, said:

“This agreement builds on our strategy of increasing our global footprint as we continue to develop further as a fully integrated production, processing and distribution company of pre-eminent quality marble.  As such we look forward to working with Pristine Stone which, through our incentivized distribution agreement is structured to help deliver maximum sales penetration of our marble product into the American market.”

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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)

Liam Murray - Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0883

Brandon Hill Capital (Joint Broker)

Oliver Stansfield - Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Beaufort Securities Limited (Joint Broker)

Elliott Hance - Tel: +44 (0) 207 382 8300

Yellow Jersey PR

Felicity Winkles - Tel: +44 (0) 7748 843 871

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble (AIM:FOX), is a leading low-capex global marble production, processing and distribution company in Kosovo and the Balkans region.  

Its marble products, which includes Illyric White, Selene Grigio and Etruscan Gold are gaining traction globally both to large off-take/distribution companies and being supplied directly into luxury residential properties, such as St George’s Homes and Capital and Counties Plc.’s Lillie Square development in the UK and Point Piper in Sydney, Australia, touted to be Australia’s most expensive property. Underscoring 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. 

In terms of production, Fox Marble has a 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 ramp up its operations. 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.

Update and AGM Statement

AIM:  FOX
30 June 2017

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 provide the market with an operational and financial update ahead of its Annual General Meeting being held this morning at 10 am at CMS’s offices at 78 Cannon St London EC4N 6AF.  

Operational Headlines:

• Following the Mahadev Marmo sale and purchase deed signed in February 2017 for an estimated $1.8 million per annum of block marble, Fox Marble has already completed shipments to Mahadev and we have received a purchase order for our third shipment of 1,000 tonnes.  

• Agreement signed with Simsekler Mermer A.G. one of Turkey’s premier natural stone groups to supply a minimum of €0.4 million marble.

• Letter of intent received from RK Marble Pvt Ltd one of the largest marble companies in the world for 1,000 tonnes of block marble across our range.  

• The Company has begun cutting blocks at the factory for the purpose of completing existing orders.  The resin and polishing lines are being calibrated and are expected to be able to produce polished slabs in July 2017. 

• We have been notified that one of the Pisani group companies, Pisani Holdings Ltd has appointed Deloitte as administrator as of last week.  Pisani has acted as an agent for Fox Marble material.  Fox Marble has removed all consignment stock and stock for which payment had not yet been received from Pisani storage. We are currently assessing the situation and the impact that this may have on the Company’s order book projects but are anticipating that Fox Marble materials will continue to be installed within the projects for which it has been specified.  The group has net unprovided receivables due from Pisani PLC of €68k.  

• As are result of potential project delays arising from the Pisani administration we have reduced our expected order book value for 2017 to €3.6 million

Financial:

• Fox Marble has just completed the issue of a convertible loan note for the sum of £440,000 which terms are the same as the series 1 loan note issued at the time of IPO. The interest payable is the same at 8% and the note is due for conversion or repayment on  31st July 2019. 

• Fox Marble also has put in a place a draw down facility of up to £1m to be called for at its discretion. This credit facility attracts an interest of 9% of sums drawn down.

• Our cash balance as at 28 June 2017 is €0.97 million. 

Copyright Dispute:

• Following a copyright dispute over the rights to use the name “sivec”  on 14 June 2017 the Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court held that the use of the name SIVEC by Fox Marble Holdings plc was an infringement of Mermeren Kombinat AD’s EU trade mark. A copy of the full judgement can be found at  http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/IPEC/2017/1408.html.

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented: 

“I am pleased to report on the significant progress Fox Marble has made as we continue to build ourselves into a cash generative, low capex, fully integrated production, processing and distribution company of pre-eminent quality marble. 

“Following from the completion of our new processing factory in Kosovo, which is moving into production now and will allow the Company to process (cut and polish) its own marble blocks for direct sale, Fox Marble has entered into a number of sales agreements which sees the order book stand at a healthy €3.6 million. 

“As we look ahead to H2 2017 we remain confident that a number of potential new offtake, distribution and sales agreements currently under discussion with customers across the UK, Europe, US and Asia, which the Company believes will positively impact Fox Marble's revenues in 2017.  We look forward to keeping the market updated on our developments as the year progresses.”

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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad) 

Liam Murray

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7213 0883

Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)

Oliver Stansfield 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Yellow Jersey PR

Felicity Winkles

Tel: +44 (0) 77 4884 3871

Francesca Hillier

Tel: +44 (0) 7708 400 470 

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble Holdings Plc is an AIM quoted natural stone extraction Company operating in Kosovo and the Balkans region, with headquarters in the United Kingdom. 

The Company has been granted mining licences in relation to six separate marble quarries and completed a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Established in 2011, Fox Marble has access to over 300 million cubic metres of premium quality marble. 

Fox Marble also has rights to extract marble from the Drini and Malesheva quarries, both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia. 

Landmark venture formed in cooperation with the Government of Kosovo

4 October 2016

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 that it is participating in a new project through a newly formed company registered in the U.S., Stone Alliance LLC (“Stone Alliance”), a company which is 59% owned by Fox Marble.

Key Points:

• On 4 October 2016 Stone Alliance signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Parliament of Kosovo.

• Stone Alliance  will need to raise a minimum €100m from external sources to facilitate the opening of 40 proposed marble quarries and factories over a five year period in the region with a view to establish Kosovo as a global presence in the stone industry, creating in excess of 2,000 jobs.

• Stone Alliance granted Commercial Advocacy by the Advocacy Centre of the United States Department of Commerce, ensuring the company benefits from the active support of the U.S. Government.

• Fox Marble will provide the expertise on technical and strategic planning, implementation and quarry operations; as well as the initial marketing, sales and distribution platforms for all Stone Alliance products.

Having recognised Fox Marble’s success in developing quarries in the country and the high quality of the marble being produced, the Government of Kosovo is keen to accelerate the wider development of the large number of marble deposits which have been identified in the country and to attract inward investment.  Through Stone Alliance they aim to realise this ambition, drawing on Fox Marble’s existing management and operational expertise. 

Stone Alliance has reserved exploration licences for 40 quarry sites with the Independent Commission for Mining and Minerals, the licensing body in Kosovo. These quarries have been surveyed and contain large quantities of high quality dimension stone.

Further, Stone Alliance has been granted Commercial Advocacy by the Advocacy Centre of the United States Department of Commerce based in Washington DC.  This ensures that the company benefits from the active support of the U.S. Government.  That support will be primarily delivered by the US Ambassador to Kosovo, HE Ambassador Greg Delawie, and his staff.

Building on an official letter of welcome from the Kosovo Prime Minister,  Dr Isa Mustafa, and with the strong support of Ambassador Delawie and his team, on 4 October 2016 Stone Alliance signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Parliament of Kosovo, led by its President and Dr Mustafa’s senior coalition Partner, President of Parliament KadriVeseli. 

The MoU sets out to achieve the following objectives:

- Creation of a world class new stone industry for Kosovo and in excess of  2,000 jobs in the first five years of the business plan implementation;

- International board of directors led by the Chairman, Lt. Gen.(Ret.) Michael D. Barbero; and

- Enhanced reputation of Kosovo through the transformation of the international perception of investment risk as well as through the globalmarketing and sales of prestigious Kosovan stone.

In accordance with the MOU, Stone Alliance has agreed to raise the capital necessary to facilitate the opening of forty quarries in Kosovo, creating not only direct employment in the quarries themselves but also jobs in the support industries, such as transport and logistics, consumables provision, as well as maintenance and catering services where all providers are expected to be local businesses. Stone Alliance will also commit to build at least two new factories which will process the extracted raw marble into the higher value cut and polished slab products. 

Stone Alliance is seeking to raiseat least €100m from new investors as the business plan dictates.  It is envisaged that the fundraising will commence shortly.

Stone Alliance shall facilitate the opening of the proposed quarries and factories over a five year period.  Each of the 40 quarries are expected to be the subject of a joint venture with a local minority partner responsible for operations under the direction of Fox Marble.Fox Marble, which will be the operating company for Stone Alliance in addition to continuing with its current operations, will provide the expertise on technical and strategic planning, implementation and quarry operations; as well as the initial marketing, sales and distribution platforms for all Stone Alliance products.

Directors and former Directors of Fox Marble, who have interests in Stone Alliance, are Mr Andrew Allner (1%), who will act as the Deputy Chairman of Stone Alliance and Dr Etrur Albani (10%). Chris Gilbert, who will act as the CEO, will receive an interest of up to 3%, subject to specific performance criteria being met. These holdings reflect the work they have done in order to establish Stone Alliance.  The balance of the interests in Stone Alliance are held by a variety of local partners, consultants and advisers.

Chris Gilbert, Fox Marble’s CEO commented:

“Fox Marble is delighted to participate in this exciting project which we expect will help to establish Kosovo as a global presence in the stone industry. Fox Marble will provide all the practical expertise required to achieve the stated objectives of Stone Alliance and manage the business, which has rights to very attractive stone in 40 sites across the country. Fox Marble will continue to build on its own successes in its quarries and work hard to deliver on its previously stated business model. The additional responsibilities Fox Marble will assume for Stone Alliance, in which it holds a majority stake, will enhance its abilities to meet its objectives on a much wider marketing, sales and distribution platform.”

Andrew Allner, Fox Marble’s Chairman commented:

“Fox Marble was formed with the objectives of establishing Kosovo as a leading global supplier of marble whilst at the same time providing attractive returns for shareholders. The establishment of Stone Alliance as a subsidiary company of Fox Marble is a major development and provides a powerful structure for the future. Fox Marble must now put this structure into operation and execute its plans to ensure that Kosovo’s potential as a leading global supplier of marble is delivered, thus creating employment and wealth in Kosovo and providing additional value to our shareholders.

I would like to welcome Lt. General Mike Barbero as Chairman of Stone Alliance. He has played an important role in obtaining the support of the US Government and reaching agreement in Kosovo. I look forward to working closely with him in the years ahead.”

Michael D. Barbero, Stone Alliance’s Chairman commented:

"We are excited to build upon this MoU, which we have signed with the Government of Kosovo, to develop Stone Alliance into an economic and employment leader in Kosovo.  With the support of the U.S. Government and in partnership with the Government of Kosovo, Stone Alliance is committed to the long term success of this project."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU 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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)

James Caithie

Liam Murray

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900

Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)

Oliver Stansfield

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Yellow Jersey PR

Dominic Barretto

Aiden Stanley

Tel: +44 (0) 77 6853 7739 

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble Holdings Plc is an AIM quoted natural stone extraction Company operating in Kosovo and the Balkans region, with headquarters in the United Kingdom.

The Company has been granted mining licences in relation to six separate marble quarries and completed a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Established in 2011, Fox Marble has access to over 300 million cubic metres of premium quality marble.

Fox Marble also has rights to extract marble from the Drini and Malesheva quarries, both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia.

Block Sales and Factory Update Agreement

AIM:  FOX
15th March 2016

 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 provide the following update to the market.

The Italian supplier of the equipment needed to complete the slab processing and resining production lines at the Company’s factory has confirmed delivery of the lines within the next two months.  The purchase agreement has been amended to reflect the delays in 2015. The total discounted cost of this equipment is €900,000.  Of this, €400,000 will be a cash payment of which €112,500 has already been paid.  The balance of €500,000  will be satisfied by the sale of a range of marble blocks from the Company’s quarries to the supplier, upon completion of delivery and installation of the equipment.

The Company is further pleased to confirm broader work at the factory site in Lipjan, Kosovo, is progressing well and as previously announced, commissioning and opening of the factory is anticipated by the middle of the year.  Both internal and external gantry cranes have been delivered to the site, with the five tonne internal gantry crane now fully installed and tested.  The thirty-five tonne external gantry crane is expected to be installed shortly. 

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented:

“This confirmation is a key milestone on the path towards the factory becoming fully operational.  We expect to be able to produce cut and polished marble slabs in Kosovo by the middle of the year and in so doing reduce our cost of production. Furthermore, with facilities in country, Fox Marble expects to open upadditional sales channels to local Balkan markets for finished stone, as well as allowing the Company to make more efficient use of all of its production and improve yields within the quarries.  The progress on installation of equipment and the advance payment from Eboracum show the Company making progress towards a new phase in marble processing and revenue generation.” 

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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)

Avi Robinson / Liam Murray 

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900

Brandon Hill Capital (Broker)

Oliver Stansfield

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Yellow Jersey PR  

Dominic Barretto

Aidan Stanley

Tel: +44 (0) 77 6853 7739

Notes to Editors 

Fox Marble Holdings Plc is an AIM quoted natural stone extraction Company operating in Kosovo and the Balkans region, with headquarters in the United Kingdom.

The Company has been granted mining licences in relation to six separate marble quarries and completed a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Established in 2011, Fox Marble has access to over 300 million cubic metres of premium quality marble.  

Fox Marble also has rights to extract marble from the Drini and Malesheva quarries, both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia.

Advance Payment Received

AIM:  FOX
7th March 2016

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 confirm that of the €2,000,000 order placed through Fox Marble’s new long-term distribution agreement entered into with Eboracum Limited (“Eboracum”), as reported in the Company’s announcement dated 21 January 2016, the Company has received confirmation from Eboracum’s accountants of receipt of an advance payment of £300,000 (€390,000) into their client account, which will shortly be transferred to the Company.  This advance reflects the material on hand that is ready for shipment, for which delivery is now expected to commence.  The balance is payable prior to further shipments.

Malesheva quarry

The first blocks extracted from the Malesheva quarry in Kosovo have been processed and samples have been distributed to potential buyers.  In addition to the milk-white marble known as Illirico Bianco, the quarry has been found to contain a light, silver grey marble, known as Illirico Selene.  Slabs of both types have been cut and polished in Carrara and are attracting a positive response already.  The Company has opened the quarry in such a way that both stone types can be extracted to fufill demand.  

Chris Gilbert, CEO, commented:

“We are pleased to announce the  confirmation of payment of this advance and that we are now beginning to deliver this order.  We look forward to a successful relationship with this newly appointed distributor, Eboracum Limited, in addition to our already existing sales channels around the world.  

“Further, the interest we are already receiving in our Illirico Bianco and Illirico Selene marble is very encouraging and we expect to see this reflected in our order book as the year progresses."

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

Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad)

Avi Robinson / Liam Murray

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 7900

Brandon Hill Capital (Broker) 

Oliver Stansfield

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3463 5000

Yellow Jersey PR

Dominic Barretto

Aiden Stanley

Tel: +44 (0) 77 6853 7739

Notes to Editors

Fox Marble Holdings Plc is an AIM quoted natural stone extraction Company operating in Kosovo and the Balkans region, with headquarters in the United Kingdom. 

The Company has been granted mining licences in relation to six separate marble quarries and completed a maiden JORC resource indicating an in-situ valuation of approximately Euro 16.5 billion. Established in 2011, Fox Marble has access to over 300 million cubic metres of premium quality marble.

Fox Marble also has rights to extract marble from the Drini and Malesheva quarries, both in Kosovo and from the Prilep Quarry in Macedonia.

Restoration of Licenses

Read more

Update on extraction and processing

Read more

License update

Read more

Opening first marble quarry in Kosovo

Read more