In conjunction with the placing, certain directors and members of the senior management of the Company subscribed for ordinary shares. In addition to the placing and subscriptions, there was an offer made by the Company on the PrimaryBid platform to allow retail investors to participate in the equity fundraise.
A total of 72,983,484 new ordinary shares were placed by Barclays and Numis at a placing price of 335 pence per share. 1,557,119 new ordinary shares were issued pursuant to the retail offer and 86,267 new ordinary shares were directly subscribed for by directors and members of senior management.
The net proceeds of the placing, the subscription and the retail offer will be used to help fund and accelerate the Company's Partnerships division and to strengthen the Group's balance sheet following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The deal represents the latest "cash box" placing conducted by a premium listed UK corporate, with the new shares being issued representing approximately 16 per cent of the Company's issued share capital.
It also follows the recent trend of issuers incorporating a retail offer alongside an institutional placing, which was conducted via the PrimaryBid platform.
The Ashurst team acted as English and US counsel, and was led by corporate partner Simon Bullock, with Jennifer Schneck leading the US securities team. Simon and Jennifer were assisted by senior associates Rodrigo Romero-Hidalgo and Louise Chan and associate Kseniia Samokhina. Partner Nicholas Gardner advised on UK tax matters, assisted by associate Martin Voelker. Jeff Sultoon also advised.
