Gear4music raises £4.2m from share issue as it looks to grow
A PLACING by Gear4music has raised £4.2m to fund its organic growth and international expansion strategy.
Gear4music, the largest UK-based online retailer of musical instruments and music equipment, intends to issue up to 610,000 new ordinary shares together with up to 839,000 existing ordinary shares in response to high levels of demand from institutional investors.
Since Gear4music’s IPO in June 2015, the group has more than doubled its revenue, with turnover increasing from £24.2m in the year ended February 28 2015 to £56.1m in the year ended February 28 2017.
Gear4music’s chief executive officer Andrew Wass said: “We are delighted with Gear4music’s recent performance; however, there is much more for us to achieve given the growth opportunities in our markets.
“The business is well positioned to capitalise on those opportunities and the Placing proceeds will provide us with additional firepower to execute the various elements of our organic growth strategy.”
John Hamer, head of corporate at Walker Morris, who advised on the process, said: “It is always a pleasure to see a long-standing client grow and succeed.
“We’ve had the pleasure of working with the company for a number of years, having previously advised at the time of Key Capital Partners’ investment in 2012 and its Initial Public Offering in 2015. This latest placing is a positive move for the Group to secure the funding and investment it needs to capitalise on its growth opportunities.”
The York-based firm reported a 129 per cent increase in overseas sales at the start of the year and is now the largest UK online retailer of musical instruments and music equipment.
Active customer numbers rose 53 per cent to 324,000 by the end of 2016, compared with the end of 2015. Its Swedish distribution centre is now active and the German distribution centre is on track to be operational by the end of the financial year. Panmure Gordon is acting as Nominated Adviser, Broker and Bookrunner for Gear4music.