Top story
Agricultural supplies group Wynnstay has raised £10.6m via the placing of new shares to fund future growth and acquisitions.
The group has placed 1.9m new ordinary shares at a price of 560p per share in an oversubscribed accelerated bookbuilding process after announcing the placement last night.
The shares had closed at 596.6p yesterday prior to the announcement of the placing, having risen 9.5% over the past year.
Shore Capital acted as sole bookrunner and sole broker.
Wynnstay said it has been experiencing a strong trading backdrop, supported by buoyant farmgate prices across most categories, which has boosted farmer sentiment and farm investment.
The placing, therefore, reflects a number of opportunities to accelerate the growth of the company.
In particular, the company has the opportunity to redevelop its site at Calne, acquired as part of the Humphrey Feeds acquisition in March 2022, into a modern 185,000 metric tonne capacity mill, manufacturing both poultry and ruminant feed.
Furthermore, the group said it has a strong acquisition pipeline, which it is actively assessing.
CEO Gareth Davies commented: “We believe that this is an important fundraising for Wynnstay. It will support both the planned redevelopment of the Calne feed facility and assist with potential future acquisitions.
“While there are still challenges with cost inflation and supply chain pressures, sector sentiment remains strong, and the fundraising proceeds will enable us to accelerate growth plans.”
Morning update
B&M European Value Retail has announced the appointment of Oliver Tant, former CFO of Imperial Brands, to its board and eventually chair of its audit and risk committee.
Tant was CFO of Imperial Brands PLC from 2013 to 2021, with responsibility for the full range of finance functions along with the corporate development, legal, science, IT and procurement teams.
Prior to joining Imperial, Tant spent over 30 years with KPMG and is currently non-executive director and audit committee chair designate of Redrow PLC.
He will joint the B&M board subject to shareholder approval with effect from 1 November 2022 when he will also join the audit & risk and nomination committees.
At the conclusion of the company’s AGM in July 2023, it is intended that Tant will succeed Ron McMillan as the chair of the audit & risk committee, who will retire from the board having served over nine years as a non-exec.
Chairman Peter Bamford said: “I am delighted that Oliver has agreed to join the Board of B&M. His previous roles at Imperial Brands and KPMG give the combined experience of a Big Four audit partner with eight years as CFO of a FTSE 100 business. I am sure that he will add a great deal of value both as a Non-Executive Director and in his future role as Audit & Risk Committee Chair.”
“Ron has been an outstanding Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and has played a critical role in the successful transition of B&M from IPO in 2014 to a FTSE 100 company. However, it is now right that we plan for his succession. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Ron for his service to B&M and look forward to working with him over the remaining period of his directorship.”
On the markets this morning, the FTSE 100 has slipped another 0.2% to 7,501.5pts.
Risers include Naked Wines, up 3.5% to 149.9p, Kerry Group, up 1.6% to €107.00 and DS Smith, up 1.3% to 288.3p.
Fallers include THG, down 4.4% to 65.9p, Nichols, down 3.7% to 596.9p and Bakkavor, down 2.5% to 100.2p.
Yesterday in the City
The FTSE 100 closed down 0.3% to 7,515.8pts yesterday.
Digital-focussed groups were on the slide, including Deliveroo, down 6.5% to 91.2p, Just Eat Takeaway.com, down 4.5% to 1,459.6p, Virgin Wines, down 3.6% to 67.5p, Naked Wines, down 3.5% to 114.8p and Domino’s Pizza Group, down 3% to 269p.
Other fallers included Pets at Home, down 4.5% to 365.2p, Haleon, down 4% to 258.4p, C&C Group, down 3.6% to 185.9p, Glanbia, down 3.2% to €11.84, DS Smith, down 3.1% to 284.6p and SSP Group, down 2.4% to 241.1p.
Risers yesterday included Bakkavor, up 2.4% to 102.8p, FeverTree, up 2.3% to 1,043p, Nichols, up 1.1% to 1,180p, Diageo, up 1.1% to 3,888.5p, British American Tobacco, up 1% to 3440.5p and Greencore, up 0.8% to 100.3p.
No comments yet