LONDON (Alliance News) - Vitesse Media PLC said Tuesday that it had raised GBP265,000 through the placing of 12.0 million shares at a price of 2.2 pence, in order to support the development of its new small- and medium-sized enterprise crowd-funding platform.
Vitesse said that the placing had been subscribed to by a group of investors led by Derek Stewart, former chief executive officer of Mellon Global Alternative Investments at Bank of New York Mellon. Also investing were Alan Mearns and Greenhill LLC.
The events and publishing company intends to use GBP250,00 of the proceeds from the placement to develop the crowd-funding platform.
"This growth opportunity has considerable synergies with Vitesse's existing SME-focused digital media and events businesses," said Chairman Sara Williams in a statement. "This is a natural extension of our philosophy of 'bringing investors and entrepreneurs together' and combines the strength of our existing brands and relationships with the new team's experience in investment and technology."
Vitesse also said it has secured a loan of GBP80,000 from its investors, with a 7% interest rate and three-year term. It said the new investors have the right to appoint a non-executive director to its board.
Shares in Vitesse were trading up 3.5% at 2.20 pence Tuesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
Copyright © 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.