RC Fornax PLC (AIM:RCFX), an engineering consultant specialising in UK military projects, has started trading on London's AIM after raising £6.15 million from the sale of new and existing shares in a placing.
Shares in the company rose 4.6% to 34p in early trading on Wednesday, with the fundraising having been carried out at a price of 32.5p per share which gave a market capitalisation of just over £18 million.
The company said in a statement confirming its first day of dealings that the funds would be focused on accelerating growth, including via expansion of sales, marketing and training capabilities, as well as developing an AI tool.
Since being founded four years ago by former Royal Air Force engineers Paul Reeves and Daniel Clark, the company has grown revenues by a compound annual growth rate of around 100% and is already profitable at an EBITDA level.
RC Fornax says it supports customers in switching from traditional labour-based contracts into "fully managed outcome-based services under statements of work", helping deliver defence programmes on time, within budget and to defined standards.
Reeves, who holds the role of chief executive officer, said he and Clark, who is chief operations officer, in their time at the RAF "supported several tier 1 defence contractors through consultancy roles and, during this time, identified some common challenges.
"Together, we co-founded RC Fornax in 2020, with the aim of tackling these challenges and ultimately assisting in improving the national security of the UK.
"We believe that admission to AIM will help accelerate the growth of the business as we expand our role in supporting the UK defence sector."
The company's financial adviser and AIM nominated adviser is Strand Hanson and its broker is Cavendish.