Shareholders support Marshalls £34m rights issue

HUDDERSFIELD paving specialist Marshalls has confirmed that it has successfully raised £34m through a rights issue.

The firm said it had received acceptance of around 90% of New Ordinary Shares offered to its shareholders.

The two-for-five rights issue of shares has been fully underwritten by Citi and Numis.

In May, Marshalls said that it needed to raise the money to reduce borrowings and avoid breaching covenants on its current bank facilities. Borrowings as of April 30 were £135m.

The firm said that while revenue for the first four months of the year was in line with expectations at £103m compared to £135m a year ago, it was seeing a slowing in public sector business although domestic markets improved over Easter.

Over the last year Marshalls, which sponsors the Chelsea Flower Show and has provided the stone to pave London’s Trafalgar Square, has shed 400 jobs – 14% of its workforce – as part of cost-cutting measures, which have included consolidating its street furniture and stone walling businesses and closing four concrete manufacturing sites.