Online retailer raises funds to the tune of £4.2m
Online instrument retailer Gear4Music has announced a £4.2m fundraising mission to accelerate expansion plans.
The AIM-listed retailer has achieved a placing of 610,000 shares at 690p per share and the placing of sale shares, bringing the total up to 1,449,000 shares, raising £4.2m.
The fundraising, via an accelerated book build in which shares are sold in a very short space of time with little to no marketing, also includes the sale of shares by certain company directors which is says is in response to high levels of demand from institutional investors.
Andrew Wass, Gear4music’s chief executive officer, who intends to sell a proportion of his holding of ordinary shares as part of the placing, has agreed to a 12 month lock-in period in respect of his remaining holding.
The York-based company intends to use the proceeds of the placing to accelerate the execution of the group’s growth strategy, through the funding of ongoing “organic” growth projects, including the development of its IT platforms, continued investment in international development, marketing and supply chain and to fund the fit-out of the company’s new UK head office as well as its German and Scandinavian hubs.
Gear4Music’s CEO Andrew Wass, said: “We are delighted with Gear4music’s recent performance, but there is much more that we want to achieve as a leading global retailer of musical instruments and equipment.
“We are delighted with the level of support for our oversubscribed fundraising. We would like to take the opportunity to welcome new shareholders onto our register as well as thank our existing investors for their continued support. We look forward to putting the funds raised to work in the Group in executing our organic growth strategy for the business.”
Walker Morris advised Gear4music on its placing. John Hamer, head of corporate at the Leeds firm said: “It is always a pleasure to see a long-standing client grow and succeed. We’ve had the pleasure of working with the Company for a number of years, having previously advised at the time of Key Capital Partners’ investment in 2012 and its Initial Public Offering in 2015. This latest placing is a positive move for the Group to secure the funding and investment it needs to capitalise on its growth opportunities.”
Panmure Gordon is acting as Nominated Adviser, Broker and Bookrunner for Gear4music. Squire Patton Boggs, led by Hannah Kendrick and Hannah Graham, acted for Panmure Gordon on the fundraising.
Gear4Music completed an IPO in June 2015 and since then has more than doubled its revenues from £24.2m that year to £56.1m for the year ended February 2017.
