North West investors buy into fishing tackle retailer

ECOMMERCE investors have thrown their line in at Fishing Republic, raising £3.75m to support the growth of the firm.

The fishing tackle retailer has raised the funds through a placement of 10,714,288 shares at 35p each.

The proceeds will support the company’s online growth plans, as well as supporting further store openings and potential acquisitions.

Amongst the new investors are Liverpool-based businessman Bill Currie, founder of The Fragrance Shop, and Iain McDonald, a partner at Mr Currie’s family investment firm the William Currie Group.

Sir Terry Leahy, formerly chief executive at Tesco and a board director at B&M Retail has also joined the lineup.

James Newman, chairman of Fishing Republic, said: “I am delighted to announce our successful share placing to raise £3.75m gross. The placing, which was heavily oversubscribed, was well supported by existing investors and we are also pleased to welcome a number of new shareholders.”

Steve Gross, chief executive of Fishing Republic, said: “We will be using the net proceeds of the placing to implement our growth strategy. In particular, we will be focusing on developing our online and digital capability, whilst continuing to expand our store network. Our long term goal is to consolidate the fishing tackle marketplace and build a significant market presence and we remain very positive about the opportunity for us to do so.”

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