Prior to publication, the information contained within this announcement was deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

8 December 2017

Vela Technologies plc

("Vela" or the "Company")

Proposed investment in blockchain technology company

The Board of Vela (AIM: VELA), the investing company focused on early-stage and pre-IPO disruptive technology investments, is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a conditional agreement to invest £200,589 to acquire a minority equity stake in BlockchainK2 Corp. ("BlockchainK2") (the "Proposed Investment"). BlockchainK2 is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform that offers mining exposure and proprietary software as a service (SAAS) blockchain solutions with leading industry partners. The Proposed Investment will be funded from Vela's existing cash resources.

In November 2017 African Hydrocarbons Inc. ("AHI") (NFK.H), a company listed on the NEX board of the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, announced that AHI would seek to complete a "change of business" transaction (the "COB Transaction") pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange with the result that upon completion AHI would become a blockchain technology company with an initial focus on mining cryptocurrencies and be re-named BlockchainK2 Corp.. The COB Transaction is conditional, inter alia, on AHI raising gross proceeds of not less than C$2,000,000 pursuant to a private placement and Vela's Proposed Investment is part of this private placement. Subject to certain conditions being met, including completion of AHI's private placement and the company meeting the applicable listing requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange as a technology issuer, it is expected that the COB Transaction will complete in early 2018.

Upon completion of the COB Transaction AHI (to be re-named as BlockchainK2) intends to acquire no less than C$1.3 million worth of cryptocurrency mining equipment and employ such technology in a cryptocurrency mining data centre to be located in North America to mine bitcoin and other alternative cryptocurrencies.

The investment by Vela will be made into AHI, conditional on the COB Transaction completing, and on completion Vela will hold a minority equity stake in BlockchainK2. The funds will be held in an escrow account and if the COB Transaction is not completed then the Proposed Investment would not take place and funds would be returned to Vela. There can be no assurances that the COB Transaction and the Proposed Investment will be completed.

Details on the COB Transaction were announced by AHI on 23 November 2017 and details on the private placement were announced by AHI on 24 November 2017. Further details on the COB Transaction are available at:

https://web.tmxmoney.com/article.php?newsid=4567902538120646&qm_symbol=NFK.H:APH 

As at 30 June 2017 AHI had net assets of C$66,203 and for the year ended 30 September 2016 AHI generated a net loss of C$344,884.

Further announcements will be made by Vela at the appropriate time.

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