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Fox Marble raises £2mln to complete factory

Published: 08:06 13 May 2016 BST

Picture of marble quarrying
Fox Marble currently has four quarries in operation producing nine varieties of stone

Balkans-based marble group Fox Marble (LON:FOX) has raised £2mln to cover the cost of kitting out a new factory in Kosovo and training the staff.

Shares have been allocated at 10p to new and existing investors, though the funding needs to approved by shareholders.

Chris Gilbert, chief executive, said: "We believe the completion of the processing facility and expansion of our sales and distribution platforms are key milestones for the company. 

“We expect to be able to produce cut and polished marble slabs in Kosovo during the summer. 

“This will significantly boost our margins as well as open up the Balkan markets for cutting and polishing of regional stone.”

Fox Marble currently has four quarries in operation producing nine varieties of stone at Cervenilla, Syrigane, Malesheva and Prilep. A further six quarries are under licence or operating agreements.

The three operating quarries in Kosovo and one in Macedonia are producing commercial size blocks, with a large amount of stock now on hand.

The processing facility is expected to be operational by the summer, Fox added, after delays last year to the arrival of the equipment.

The parts needed to complete the slab processing and resining production lines will be delivered this half, with the overall cost reduced to €900,000 to reflect the delay.

Of this, €400,000 will be a cash payment of which €112,500 has already been paid.  The balance of €500,000 will be satisfied by the sale of a range of marble blocks on completion.

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