Ashington Innovation PLC (LSE:ASHI) director Chris Disspain says the soon-to-float ‘SPAC’ won’t rush into a company acquisition and will target quality opportunities.
Speaking with Proactive following the announcement from Ashington Innovation confirming its shares will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday 6 June, effectively launching the special purpose acquisition company which seeks to acquire companies in the fintech and ‘deep’ tech sectors.
It raised £809,437 through the sale of 26.98mln new shares in the company. It provides working capital whilst the team work on deals.
"We're looking to grow by acquiring existing companies. We've got 24 months to do that under the rules. I would rather take most of that time to find the right target than rush out and try and look good by finding something in the first three weeks," Disspain said in the Proactive interview.
He added: "We're targeting a business combination with a company that has significant growth potential.
“We think the accelerated access to the LSE's deep capital markets will be attractive to prospective targets."
Disspain described London as the most attractive destination in Europe for fintech and deep tech.
He noted that around £12.5bn has been invested in fintech opportunities in London since 2020 and the Ashington team are expecting this sector of the market will continue to flourish in the coming year.
"FinTech and deep tech are both of keen interest to investors.
“These areas are seeing rising investment. We think now is a good time to take the opportunity to acquire a company at a favourable valuation with high potential growth."