PLUS - the new stock exchange for London, announced continued robust growth company activity in the PLUS-quoted market for fund-raisings, admissions and M&A in the month of October.
Fundraising: At end October, total fundraising reached £65.10 million, clearly indicating PLUS is on track to exceed last year’s total for the full year (£ 66 m). In October alone, fundraising on PLUS reached £9.2 million (Oct 2007: £2.87 m – an increase of over 6 million on previous year) with some 16 PLUS-quoted companies accessing the market for secondary fundraisings. As bank finance remains tight, more companies are finding the PLUS-quoted market a useful venue for equity finance.
New admissions also remained strong. From January to October, 36 companies joined the PLUS-quoted market, with the following admissions for October:- Storyboard Assets plc, owns a range of original artwork by some of the best known and most popular illustrators of historic and contemporary children’s literature for loan to exhibitions in the UK and around the world.
- Bright Futures Group plc, a private contract catering business.
- China Meihua Biological Technology plc, distributes biological products, namely lactase and probiotics.
A further seven companies have admissions pending.
M&A: Other notable primary activity on the PLUS-quoted market include the following:- First London plc, acquisition of Bahrain International Capital Inc. (valued at approx. £44m)
- Fluid Leader Group plc, acquisition of Sharjah Land Investments Limited (valued at approx. £3.8m)
Paul Haddock, Head of Capital Markets, said: “The PLUS quoted market remains a very active environment in tough times. More than ever, companies are finding it an excellent venue for capital raising, with both new companies and existing PLUS-quoted companies accessing the market for equity finance. There is still money available for good quality growth companies.”