Café-bar operator Loungers PLC has raised £83.3mln ahead of its planned float on London’s junior market later this month.
Selling shareholders, which include two of the founders and private equity house Lion Capital, will trouser just shy of £22mln of that, with the rest going to the company.
READ: Loungers set for AIM IPO later this month
Bosses plan to use the injection to pay down debt and fund their ambitious growth plans, which could see the current estate of 150 sites treble over the coming years.
Loungers raised the cash through the sale of shares at 200p apiece, valuing it at £185mln – some way shy of the £250mln some analysts had thought it would fetch.
“Today is a significant milestone in Loungers' journey as it has long been our ambition to list the company on the public markets,” said chief executive Nick Collins.