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LONDON (Alliance News) - Online reservation platform BigDish PLC on Thursday began its first day of trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, following the admission of 49.4 million shares at 4.5 pence each.
The stock closed at 4.00p per share on Thursday, 11% below the issue price. On admission, market capitalisation of the company was expected to be GBP12.9 million.
BigDish is a yield management platform for the restaurant industry. The platform allows restaurants to boost their sales by offering a variable pricing strategy dependent on the time of day that a restaurant reservation is made for.
The company currently operates in the Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong. The company will also start its operations in the UK following completion of the acquisition of Pouncer, a yield management company which is predominant around Bournemouth.
BigDish seeks to raise GBP1.8 million from listing with the proceeds going towards increasing its brand presence and business development personnel, completing the acquisition of Pouncer, and marketing.
Chairman Aidan Bishop said: "The reason for listing was to be able to get access to growth capital. We will predominantly invest into marketing and this will allow us to acquire more users, more diners and more restaurants. Today's initial public offering is really all about fuelling growth."
BigDish has carried out limited marketing activities to-date while it has focused on developing its technology platforms, further updating its apps and increasing the number of restaurants signed up to the BigDish Platform in order to attract diners. Accordingly, revenue generated since launch of the BigDish brand in late 2016 is negligible.
Despite the company's positive outlook, it is a difficult time for the restaurant industry, given the growing popularity of online delivery platforms.
Analyst Artjom Hatsaturjants commented in a report on Tuesday that there is "highly aggressive sector competition from the rivals Deliveroo and Uber Eats" forcing other restaurants and delivery platforms to keep investing in growth in order to keep up.
BigDish's Chairman Aidan Bishop founded the company in April 2013. Joost Boer was proposed as chief executive officer of BigDish.