Optare in £8.6m fundraising
COACHBUILDER Optare has announced plans to raise £8.6m through a share placing that would allow it to develop a range of “low carbon” buses.
The conditional placing by Cenkos Securities of up to around 123m ordinary shares of 1p each with various institutional investors at a price of 7p per share will also provide working capital and support product cost reductions. The placing is expected to raise £8.06m after expenses.
Optare’s chief executive, Jim Sumner, said: “I am delighted by the level of institutional support which endorses our strategy of developing our product range, focusing on new low carbon technologies and reducing cost over the next 12 to 18 months.
“This investment is excellent news for customers, employees and suppliers and will assist the business in positioning itself strongly for 2011 when we expect markets to recover.”
AIM-listed Optare was formed in July 2008 following a reverse takeover of Leeds-based Optare Group by Blackburn bus maker the Darwen Group. Best known for supplying buses to Stagecoach, Go-Ahead and First Group it employs around 700 staff.
Optare said today the deal with Darwen had “created a business which is able to offer a wide range of single and double deck products to the market and which now has a customer base that includes the majority of UK bus operators”. It has also launched a ‘zero emission’ Solo Electric Vehicle.
“Nonetheless, the directors recognise that further investment is required to realise the full potential of the business,” Optare said. “The board intends to deploy the monies raised by the placing in two key areas; product/market development and tooling.”
For the half year to June 30, Optare expects to announce turnover of not less than £52m, gross profit of not less than £3.7m with a loss at earning before intrest, tax and depreciation (EBITDA) level of no greater than £1.8m and a pre tax loss of no more than £2.5m before exceptional items.
