Immotion to raise funds at 40% of last year's IPO price

Immotion Group dived on Tuesday after the company shared plans to raise £3m to accelerate its growth strategy through the issue of 50m shares at 6p per share.

The fundraising, which will take place through an accelerated book-build process and see WH Ireland Limited, Shard Capital Partners and Leander Capital Partners acting as joint brokers, comes after a slew of successful contract wins for the virtual reality experiences provider.

The placing will be priced at 6p per share - less than seven months after its AIM initial public offer at 10p, when it raised a gross £5.75m.

Primary amongst these is an agreement with a number of Merlin Entertainment subsidiaries, encompassing the Lego Discovery Centre, Legoland and SeaLife brands, for a "significant" roll-out of the Immotion Group VR Cinematic Platforms, which follows a successful revenue share trial in Lego Discovery Centres in Boston and Manchester.

Martin Higginson, chief executive of Immotion, said: "Our mantra has always been; 'test, roll-out' and the extension of the Merlin relationship to cover the majority of Lego Discovery Centres, along with trials in three Sea Life Centres, is a significant milestone for the company. Endorsement from Merlin, one of the largest entertainment operators in the world, underpins our belief and confidence in our business model."

Elsewhere, Immotion Group has signed two content licensing agreements with Chinese hardware supplier LEKE VR, licensing two pieces of content for installation on the development of two specific platforms, as well as 12 of the AIM-listed company's VR experiences in territories not operated in by the company through to 31 March 2020.

The company also won a distribution agreement with Crown Leisure, the UK's largest distributor of entertainment machines, and reported that full-year trading for 2018 had fallen in line with expectations.

"The commercial success of our recent trials, which are being converted into long-term agreements, has shown our ability to deliver revenue for our partners. This, together with the positive feedback from the paying public and the discussions we are having with shopping malls and leisure operators around the world, demonstrates that there is a growing demand for our superior out of home immersive experiences," said Higginson.

Immotion Group's shares were down 16.67% at 6.75p at 0920 GMT.