Byotrol raises £3.7m to shore-up finances
BYOTROL, the AIM-listed developer and manufacturer of hygiene products is to raise £3.7m through a placing of 26.6 million shares at 15p to fund its working capital requirements and strengthen its balance sheet.
The Manchester company, which has pioneered a cleaning product that kills bacteria such as MRSA and E.coli, said the fund-raising would help fund a new generation of products and allow the board to target “further strategic opportunities” which may arise.
Chief executive Gary Millar said: “I am delighted that we have successfully managed to conclude our fund raising which will enable us to take the business to the next stage in its development.
“The funding will provide us with the platform to build on our recent successes and execute a strategy aimed at creating a profitable and cash generative enterprise. We intend to take the business forward by further developing our technical and marketing capabilities, supporting our innovative product pipeline and funding the working capital requirements of our growth strategy.”
Setting out the rationale for the placing, Byotrol said its cash resources had been “depleted” in the year to March 2010 as a result of a break even goal not being reached.
It said the net proceeds of the placing and existing cash resources will be used to cover a “working capital gap” and help the company move to profitability.
The shares have been conditionally placed with institutions including major shareholder Ruffer LLP, other investors and many of its directors, Byotrol said in a statement.
The placing shares will constitute some 24.1% of the total in issue pending approval from a general meeting on August 31. Arbuthnot Securities is acting as nominated adviser and broker to Byotrol.
