Velocys raises over £50m in oversubscribed share placing

Fuel refinery firm Velocys yesterday raised £52m from new and existing shareholders in a share placing designed to shore up the firm’s balance sheet and propel it to future growth.

 

The company, which is backed by a host of big name investors such as Chelsea FC chairman Roman Abramovich and top investor Neil Woodford as well as hedge funds such as  Lansdowne Partners, placed shares at 225p – a small premium to their 223p closing price on Friday night. 

 

Company chairman Pierre Jungels said the placing was “significantly oversubscribed” and represented a “substantial vote of confidence” in the business. 

 

Velocys deals in gas-to-liquids technology which helps turn natural gas into petrol or other fuels.

 

The group released half-year results yesterday which showed lower revenues due to its move to a commercial roll-out.

 

 

1 Ham is up for Dealmaker of the Year at this year’s City A.M. awards. He won the Rising Star of the Year award in 2011

 

2 Ham, aged 32, joined Numis as a graduate in 2005 and has been with the firm ever since, helping grow its number of FTSE 250 clients through his shrewd dealmaking. 

 

3 He is co-head of corporate broking and has worked on a series of high-profile successes this year, including the flotations of AO World, TSB, Cambian, McColl’s Retail Group and Polypipe

 

Numis was the sole book-runner and financial adviser on the placing. Tom Ballard worked alongside Alex Ham on the corporate broking side of the transaction. Stuart Skinner and Jamie Lillywhite were the nominated advisers. Financial communications was handled by Camarco.