Walking ad firm raises €7.3m from investors
The fresh funding comes ahead of the company’s flotation on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in August. The company said it had issued 50 million new ordinary shares at 8 pence (11.6 cents) per share.
The company has developed an advertising screen that is worn across the body and can also be used as a point-of-sale device.
“The directors believe that the growth of the company will be accelerated by the injection of equity capital raised by the placing. These funds will be used to develop the Adwalker unit, increase the number of sales and marketing personnel and to provide working capital generally,” the company said in a statement.
“The directors also believe that the company will benefit from the higher profile associated with public company status on the AIM and this will in turn assist in the recruitment and retention of key employees and enhance the company’s standing with potential customers and suppliers,” it said.
Adwalker’s most recent accounts, for the 20 months to end February 2005, show it lost €4.2m on revenue of €221,631. However, it said that it has secured €1m in new contracts so far this year with clients such as lastminute.com, Sony, Daimler Chrysler, Puma, 888.com and Cadbury.
Adwalker was founded by Keith Jordan and Simon Crisp, the company’s chief executive.
Adwalker is the latest Irish company to chose the AIM market over the Dublin exchange.
In the past year the likes of CNG Travel, Calyx and Ely Properties, have opted for London’s equity markets over their Irish counterpart.
