Portmeirion Group PLC (LON:PMP) plans to raise up to £12.7mln to jump on the back of new retail trends as sales of its ceramics were hit by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The homewares manufacturer said that because the ongoing effects of COVID-19 are expected to continue to have a significant impact on store sales, it has seen a doubling in online sales and wants cash to help it capitalise on this accelerating trend, as well as the continued consumer trend for buying homewares and recent demand for its new hand sanitiser product line.
READ: Portmeirion warns pandemic trading impact will continue into second quarter
Its UK candles and home fragrances arm, Wax Lyrical, repurposed production lines at its Cumbria based factory during the lockdown and has been producing hand sanitiser, with more than 1mln units expected to be produced during the three months to the end of June.
The Stoke-on-Trent group aims to raise £10mln from a placing, £0.66mln from a subscription by management and another £2mln from an open offer, all at issue price of not less than 375p per share.
It noted that prior to the pandemic, it has been a cash generative and profitable business with 11 years of consecutive revenue growth.
The shares rose 4% to 400p on Wednesday morning, still down 51% since the start of the year.