Life sciences firm raises £15m

Life sciences business Tissue Regenix has raised £14.6m in a fundraising, although it went through at a 76% discount on its share price.

The Leeds-based business has been looking at refinancing options since November, when it breached a revenue covenant on an existing agreement and had to repay $5.5m (£4.5m) to its lender MidCap.

That announcement spooked the markets, with Tissue Regenix’s share price falling 70% in a day.

It has had a disrupted few months since then, with chief financial officer Mike Barker leaving soon afterwards and executive chair John Samuel departing in March. The company also had a cyber-security incident in January which delayed customer orders.

But last week Tissue Regenix announced a strategic collaboration for white label manufacturing with an unnamed top 10 global healthcare company, raising expectation that a financing deal was in place.

It has now confirmed a £14.6m fundraise, with £12m coming from institutional investors, £2m from smaller shareholders, and £0.6m from directors.

It was priced at 0.25p, compared with a closing share price last night of 0.98p. Last June its share price was above 6p, which was already a significant drop from its 20p-plus levels it reached during 2016 and early 2017.

Gareth Jones, interim CEO of Tissue Regenix said: “Not only do we expect this investment to provide the capacity required to scale our business and drive our commercial success, it will also increase the number of patients who can benefit from our broadened product portfolio.”

The money raised will be spent on expanding manufacturing capacity in its San Antonio

The company intends to spend £5.1m in two phases expanding its American manufacturing facility in San Antonio, £1.9m on R&D, and £5.0m to boost its working capital.

It has estimated that its expanded manufacturing site, once fully operational, will increase its revenue generation potential by up to $36m (£30m) per year.

Tissue Regenix was advised by a team from Squire Patton Boggs led by Hannah Kendrick and Hannah Crosland in Leeds.