Angling Direct to raise £5.5m through Placing

11th June 2020

Corporate lawyers advise on second AIM placing in the space of a week

Corporate lawyers at Walker Morris have advised the nomad and broker, Nplus1 Singer, on the placings by Angling Direct plc (AIM: ANG) to raise approximately £5.5 million by way of an accelerated bookbuild process.

Angling Direct is the largest specialist fishing tackle retailer in the UK and currently sells over 21,500 fishing tackle products through its UK network of retail stores and online.

The net proceeds of the placings will strengthen Angling Direct’s balance sheet to provide further protection against the uncertainty created by Covid-19 and provide additional funding for prompt payment of suppliers to secure product, given the high level of customer demand anticipated over the coming weeks as lock-down restrictions are eased and retail stores re-open from 15 June 2020 (which coincides with the start of the coarse fishing season). At a time when greater certainty exists, the board of Angling Direct anticipates that the company will allocate any surplus funds from the placings to growth opportunities.

Corporate Partner, Richard Naish, led the Walker Morris team, supported by Adrian Moss.

The placing is being conducted in two tranches. The first placing shares are expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on or around 17 June 2020, raising gross proceeds of approximately £3.23 million. The second placing shares are expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on or around 1 July 2020, raising gross proceeds of approximately £2.27 million.

The placing is the second announced in a week for Walker Morris, with Richard Naish also leading the team advising on Avacta’s £48 million fundraising.