Findel successfully raises £81m
FINDEL, the home shopping and educational supplies company, confirmed that it has successfully raised £81m through an equity issue.
The Burley-in-Wharfedale firm said last month that it needed to raise the capital to help cut rising debts and broker cheaper banking
The capital raising was approved by shareholders this week and the new shares have started trading.
In its results in the 12 months to April 3 Findel saw pre-tax losses of £51.9m against a profit before tax of £25.2m the year before.
Findel has been hit by falling sales and has been in talks with its lenders about finding ways of reducing its debts.
It said it wants to deliver £100m of cash generation by the end of March 2011.
Findel has also agreed amended credit facilities with its lenders.
In the year to April 3, sales from continuing operations were £599.8m, down from £610.6m the previous year.
Findel said trading was in line with expectations, with group sales from continuing operations for the 15 weeks to July 17 a drop of 4% below the same period last year.
On announcing its results, Findel chairman Keith Chapman said that faced with difficult trading condition the board has responded early with a strategy to tightly control costs and bad debts and to maximise cash flow in order to pay down debt.
