Pub operator Fuller, Smith & Turner raises £54m through share placing
Pub operator Fuller, Smith & Turner raised nearly £54m today after completing a share placing in a bid to bolster its books.
The pub and hotels company said a total of 6,455,447 placing shares had been placed by its bookrunner Numis at 830 pence per share. It represents approximately a fifth of the company’s shares bringing in gross proceeds of £53.6m.
This morning chief executive Simon Emeny said the last year had been “hugely demanding” as Fuller’s burned between £4m and £5m each month of lockdown.
“The last year has been hugely demanding both for our business and the wider hospitality sector but we have risen to the challenges presented by the pandemic to emerge stronger, which is the Fuller’s Way,” he said.
The firm said it expects a drop of about 80 per cent in sales from its pubs and hotels for the full year to March 2021. The share sale, which included an offering of Class B shares
“The additional financial flexibility we are seeking to put in place will enable us to further capitalise on the opportunities open to us as we execute our recovery plan and regain growth momentum,” Emeny added.
In addition to the fundraising Fuller’s said it had agreed to a refinancing of its debt facilities with its bank, conditional on the completion of the place, which has extended the maturity date of the loans to 23 February 2023.
Shares in Fuller’s are down 3.4 per cent.