By Lisa Walls-Hester on Friday 8 July 2016
SyndicateRoom is offering retail investors the chance to take part in a £2.6m fundraise for the AIM-listed wearable tech company, Fitbug.
Fitbug is the second publicly listed company to tap into retail investor demand on the SyndicateRoom platform since its membership of the London Stock Exchange in March 2016.
Fitbug is seeking capital for product development and a marketing push after undergoing a major restructuring and repositioning exercise. The strategic shift follows the appointment of Anna Gudmundson as Chief Executive in August 2015.
The company says it will now move the company’s focus away from delivering wearable devices to an over-saturated B2C market, and instead, concentrate on the corporate wellness industry. It believes it is well positioned to take advantage of the growing trend for corporate investment in employee wellness programmes.
Fitbug says corporates are allocating higher budgets to employee wellness programmes and says that now is a “Great time for investors to get on board and help Fitbug define the future of the corporate wellness industry.”
Research indicates companies that invest in the health of the workforce perform better. They see a positive impact on their employees' productivity, absenteeism and have better control of their insurance and medical costs. Fitbug operates its business of four service pillars of physical activity, nutrition, sleep and stress and says it gives clients a holistic approach to their employee wellness.
Fitbug points investors to figures that show the US corporate wellness market is forecast to grow by 8.4 percent annually over the next five years to $12.1bn, which demonstrates its potential in global markets.
In Q1 its B2B sales were in excess of £400,000, and in addition, the directors believe the company has a significant pipeline of potential B2B business which is worth in excess of £1.1m over expected contract lifetimes.
The company plans to raise £2.6m during this fundraise. £852,000 has already been raised from institutional investors, with up to £1.76m to be raised via SyndicateRoom and other investors at the same issue price.
SyndicateRoom will be the sole retail distribution agent for the fundraise and will offer EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) shares, on the same terms as institutional investors.
The Fundraising comprises a placing of 340,800,000 Placing Shares at 25 pence per share. SyndicateRoom members will have the opportunity to apply for EIS qualifying shares that are not taken up in the open offer. The offer will close on 19 July 2016 with admission and commencement of dealings in the New Ordinary Shares at 8 a.m. on 20 July 2016.
Chief Executive of Fitbug, Anna Gudmundson said, “Having assessed a range of finance options to support our short-term and long-term working capital needs, we were particularly excited by the prospect of offering new shares to investors via SyndicateRoom. With its recent membership of the London Stock Exchange, SyndicateRoom is the only platform that could effectively distribute our shares direct to crowdfund investors, enabling us to expand the number of owner advocates for our business as we focus on becoming a leader within this space by delivering an innovative app-based technology to enhance employee wellness.”
SyndicateRoom CEO Goncalo de Vasconcelos said, “We’re thrilled to provide our members the opportunity to take equity in another innovative and high growth business. In times of uncertainty and market volatility, companies will be looking outside of the traditional lending sector. Today’s announcement highlights the importance of retail investors as an ever growing number of publicly listed companies are using SyndicateRoom to tap into retail investors demand.”
As the only crowdfunding platform to have intermediary status with the London Stock Exchange, SyndicateRoom is the only alternative investment platform offering retail investors access to both the public and private equity markets.
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Amelia Isaacs