Statement of Objections received from Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
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30 September 2020 Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on market abuse (the “Market Abuse Regulation”) requires disclosure of inside information relating to PayPoint plc (the “Issuer”). This announcement contains inside information as defined in Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation and is disclosed in accordance with the Issuer's obligations under Article 17 of the Market Abuse Regulation. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIONS RECEIVED FROM OFFICE OF GAS AND ELECTRICITY MARKETS (“OFGEM”) The Directors of the Issuer wish to announce that the Issuer has received a Statement of Objections from Ofgem on 29 September 2020, under the Competition Act 1998, setting out the regulator’s provisional view that the Issuer has infringed Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998 and/or Article 102 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. The Statement of Objections relates to certain contractual terms with certain energy suppliers that confer exclusivity to PayPoint for over-the-counter (OTC) payment services for prepayment energy customers in combination with exclusivity in retailer arrangements. Ofgem’s provisional view is that these practices constitute an abuse of a dominant position in relation to these OTC payment services. Ofgem’s findings in the Statement of Objections are provisional and Ofgem states that no conclusion should be drawn that there has been an infringement at this stage. The Issuer is considering Ofgem’s provisional views set out in the Statement of Objections and will exercise its right to respond to Ofgem and present its case. In the event that Ofgem were to proceed to an infringement finding, this could impact the Issuer’s ability to enter into such exclusive arrangements with energy suppliers, and rely on the exclusivity provisions in existing agreements. Further announcements will be made as appropriate. Enquiries ABOUT PAYPOINT For retailers, we offer innovative and time-saving technology that empowers convenience retailers in the UK and Romania to achieve higher footfall and increased spend so they can grow their businesses profitably. Our innovative retail services platform, PayPoint One, is now live in over 16,500 stores in the UK and offers everything a modern convenience store needs, from parcels and contactless card payments to EPoS and bill payment services. Our technology helps retailers to serve customers quickly, improve business efficiency and stay connected to their stores from anywhere. We help millions of people to control their household finances, make essential payments and access in-store services, like parcel collections and drop-offs. Our UK network of 27,000 stores is bigger than all banks, supermarkets and Post Offices together, putting us at the heart of communities nationwide. For clients of all sizes we provide cutting-edge payments technologies without the need for capital investment. Our seamlessly integrated multichannel payments solution, MultiPay, is a one-stop shop for customer payments. PayPoint helps over 500 consumer service providers to save time and money while making it easier for their customers to pay – via any channel and on any device. |