Franchise Brands places 10.6m shares on admission to AIM

Multi-brand franchisor Franchise Brands will place over 10.6m shares at 33p each an admission to AIM, the London Stock Exchange's junior market, to raise about £15.6m.

Before the placing the Kidderminster-based company raised £3.5m, which along with the placing shares, will be used to expand the business, in particular through acquisition.

Directors subscribed for about 1.97m shares to about £650,000 and founders Stephen Hemsley and Nigel Way will hold about 27.6% and 29.9% respectively.

Hemsley said: "Today marks a significant milestone in the development of Franchise Brands. Despite challenging market conditions, we are delighted to have received this level of support from investors. Our admission to AIM will provide us with a strong platform from which to build on our success to date, and expand the group through the acquisition of complementary businesses.

"We welcome our new shareholders and look forward with confidence to the next phase of our development as a publicly quoted company."

Franchise Brands, which has 330 franchises in 12 countries, owns ChipsAway, Ovencean and MyHome.