Applegreen says it is well placed to invest in further growth opportunities after it raised €46.9m (£41.1m) with a new placing of shares.
The placing shares represent approximately 10% of the company’s issued share capital prior to the placing.
Commenting on the placing, CEO Bob Etchingham said: “We are delighted to complete the placing and are very pleased with the very strong support we received from new and existing shareholders. The funds raised will ensure Applegreen is well positioned to continue to invest in opportunities for growth across our three markets.”
The move is the second time the company has raised money with a share issue. It raised €70m with its initial public offering (IPO), in May 2015.
Since that time, the company has stated its strategy is to accelerate the expansion of its estate. As at 31 December 2014, Applegreen had a total of 152 sites, located in the Republic of Ireland (96 sites), the UK (54 sites) and US (2 sites), and by 30 June 2017, it had grown to 275 sites, with 166 sites in the Republic of Ireland, 85 sites in the UK and 24 in the United States.
In addition, it recently announced the proposed acquisition of the Brandi Group, a 42-site retail operation based in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Carsley Group, a seven-site forecourt operation in the UK, both of which are expected to complete before the end of 2017.
Since the IPO, the company has funded this growth entirely from its own internal resources and had net debt of €33.2m as at 30 June 2017. Applegreen said the net proceeds from the placing will be used to fund a pipeline of potential additional acquisition and development opportunities that the company believes will become available to it, and to assist with the financing of the completion of the Brandi Group and Carsley Group acquisitions.
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