Summit Corporation PLC : Award of Share Options


Summit Corporation plc
('Summit' or the 'Company')

AWARD OF SHARE OPTIONS

Oxford, UK, 16 July 2014 - Summit (AIM: SUMM), the drug discovery and development company advancing therapies for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy ('DMD') and C. difficile infection, announce that on 15 July 2014 it granted Share Options over 1,458,341 shares to Executive Directors, Non-Executive Directors, and other members of the Company under the existing Company Share Option Plan at an exercise price of 126 pence per share (being the mid-market closing price of a Summit ordinary share on 14 July 2014).  The details of the award to Executive and Non-Executive Directors and Officers are as follows:

Name Position Number of
Options Granted
Exercise
Price
Glyn Edwards Chief Executive Officer 600,000 126 pence
Frank Armstrong Non-Executive Chairman 37,500 126 pence
Barry Price Non-Executive Director 17,500 126 pence
Jim Mellon Non-Executive Director 17,500 126 pence
Stephen Davies Non-Executive Director 17,500 126 pence

All the options will vest fully on 15 July 2017 subject to the average closing ordinary share price being equal to or greater than 189 pence in any period of 30 consecutive calendar days ending on or before that date. The options will lapse if this performance condition is not met by 15 July 2017.   

This share option award forms an important part of the strategy to retain and motivate personnel who will be key to the success of the Company's two clinical-stage programmes and the Company itself.  The Board believes this award is aligned with the interests of all shareholders as the Company seeks to generate long-term shareholder value. 

Following these grants the Directors and Officers hold the following options in aggregate:

Name Position Total Number of Options held % of issued share capital
Glyn Edwards Chief Executive Officer 1,934,337 4.71%
Erik Ostrowski Chief Financial Officer 400,000 0.97%
Frank Armstrong Non-Executive Chairman 112,500 0.27%
Barry Price Non-Executive Director 67,500 0.16%
Jim Mellon Non-Executive Director 42,500 0.10%
Stephen Davies Non-Executive Director 42,500 0.10%
Leopoldo Zambeletti Non-Executive Director 25,000 0.06%

Separately 100,000 options (the adjusted number post the 3 July 2014 share consolidation) that were awarded on 30 May 2013 have been cancelled and reissued.  The exercise price of 80.4 pence (adjusted to reflect the capital reorganisation which took effect on 3 July 2014) and full vesting date of 30 May 2016 of the reissued options are unchanged from the original award; there are no further performance conditions as those associated with the original award had been fulfilled.   The options have been reissued in accordance with the original option agreement due to a variation in the option award recipient's scope of work detailed in the option agreement.

The total number of options being awarded, including the reissued options, represents 3.55% of the Company's current issued share capital.   In aggregate, option grants to Directors and employees total 12.62% of the issued share capital.

- END -

Notes to Editors

About Summit
Summit is an Oxford, UK based drug discovery and development company targeting high-value areas of unmet medical need including Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and C. difficile infection. Summit is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol SUMM. Further information is available at www.summitplc.com and Summit can be followed on Twitter (@summitplc).

For more information, please contact:

Summit
Glyn Edwards / Richard Pye
Tel: +44 (0)1235 443 951
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP
(Nominated Adviser)
Liam Murray / Tony Rawlinson
Tel: +44 (0)20 7148 7900
N+1 Singer
(Broker)
Aubrey Powell / Jen Boorer       
Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000
Peckwater PR
(Financial public relations, UK)
Tarquin Edwards

Tel: +44 (0)7879 458 364
tarquin.edwards@peckwaterpr.co.uk
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
(US media contact)
Michelle Avery
Tel: +1 781-235-3060
GlobeNewswire