COMPASS GROUP PLC has announced the purchase of 77,800 of its ordinary shares on 16 January 2024. The shares were bought in accordance with the authority granted by shareholders at its 2023 Annual General Meeting. The purchased shares will be held in treasury and are expected to be used to meet obligations arising from employee share schemes or other allocations of ordinary shares to employees or directors.
The purchases were made through the Company's broker, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, at various venues, with the highest price paid per ordinary share ranging from £22.2400 to £21.8000. These purchases are part of the Company's market equivalent of $250 million share buyback announced on 4 December 2023, which is the initial stage of the Company's $500 million share buyback announced on 20 November 2023 to be completed in 2024, subject to M&A activity.
Following the purchases, the Company now holds 76,430,659 ordinary shares in treasury and has 1,708,973,318 ordinary shares in issue. This figure 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 to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
The detailed breakdown of individual trades made by BNP Paribas Financial Markets on behalf of the Company as part of the share buyback program is available in the announcement. This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, an offer or any solicitation of an offer for securities in any jurisdiction.
For further information, investors can contact Agatha Donnelly & Helen Javanshiri at +44 (0) 1932 573 000, and for press inquiries, Giles Robinson at +44 (0) 1932 963 486. More information can be found on the company's website.