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(Alliance News) - Sosandar PLC said Thursday it has raised GBP7 million at a premium to push forward with future growth.
Sosandar placed approximately 46.7 million shares at 15 pence per share. Shares in the online women's fashion retailer were 13% higher in morning trade at 16.38p each.
Sosandar said the placing price represented a 3.4% premium to Thursday's closing price.
"We are very pleased to have successfully raised GBP7 million through a significantly oversubscribed placing, with both new and existing shareholders showing their support for the business and our growth plans," said Co-Chief Executive Officers Ali Hall and Julie Lavington.
The placing comprises of a firm placing of 22.7 million shares with a further placing of 24.0 million shares, conditional on shareholder approval.
Sosandar said the placing was needed to raise additional equity to "help support and accelerate further growth".
At the beginning of July, the online fashion store said annual revenue had triple. Sosandar's revenue for the 12 months to March 31 was GBP4.4 million, over three times the GBP1.4 million recorded a year before.
Orders more than tripled to 102,967, and active customer numbers almost tripled to 62,214.
This helped Sosandar narrow its annual pretax loss to GBP3.5 million from GBP6.1 million, with the gross margin improving to 55.5% from 49.4%.
Hall and Lavington added: "Our strong financial performance and high level of repeat orders demonstrates the demand for our products and loyalty of our existing customer base. We have considerable momentum in the business which we are excited to build on going forward.
"Several opportunities are in the pipeline which will further improve the Sosandar shopping experience and build awareness of the brand to new customers. We look forward to updating all shareholders on our progress in due course."
Sosandar said the placing will allow it to "stock up on selected lines", should discussions with third-party sites prove to be successful.
The retailer also said the placing will "further widen" its product range.
Sosandar said repeat orders more than doubled in the three months to June 30, which represents the first quarter of financial 2020.
Sosandar has started its new financial year "strongly" - in line with expectations - setting a new record number of unit sales in June. The first quarter has achieved 23% revenue growth year-on-year.
"With a clear growth plan, we are confident in the outlook for the year and very excited about Sosandar's long term prospects," Hall and Lavington added.
