Non Standard Finance : Response to Offer for for Provident Financial plc

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

22 February 2019

Response to Offer by Non-Standard Finance plc for Provident Financial plc

The Board of Provident Financial plc ('Provident Financial 'or the 'Group') notes the unsolicited offer for Provident Financial announced this morning by Non-Standard Finance plc ('NSF').

The Board's considered response to the offer will be announced in due course. In the meantime, shareholders are strongly advised to take no action in respect of the NSF offer.

Barclays Bank PLC, acting through its Investment Bank ('Barclays'), which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting exclusively as corporate broker and financial adviser for Provident Financial and no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than Provident Financial for providing the protections afforded to clients of Barclays nor for providing advice in relation to any matter referred to in this announcement.

J.P. Morgan Securities plc, which conducts its UK investment banking business as J.P. Morgan Cazenove, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom. J.P. Morgan Cazenove is acting exclusively as financial adviser to Provident Financial and no one else in connection with the matters set out in this announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters set out in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than Provident Financial for providing the protections afforded to clients of J.P. Morgan Cazenove or its affiliates, or for providing advice in relation to the contents of this announcement or any other matter referred to herein.

Publication on website

A copy of this announcement will be made available, subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in restricted jurisdictions, on Provident Financial plc's websitehttps://www.providentfinancial.com/no later than 12 noon (London time) on the Business Day following this announcement. For the avoidance of doubt, the content of this website is not incorporated by reference into, and does not form part of, this announcement.