Litebulb given one more month to find funding

Litebulb, whose produce range spans Peppa Pig wooden toys, Star Wars tableware and Mary Berry cookware, said it was now in "active discussions" to raise £2m by issuing new equity, as well as restructuring at least the £800,000 of convertible loan notes that were due for repayment last Saturday 20 February.

Directors claimed to have made "significant progress" towards achieving these two things but noted that the company's current cash position "remains tight".

The holders of the loan notes have agreed to extend the £0.8m debt until 23 March. Litebulb has previously said that the current liability of the principal of the loan notes amounts to £6.6m.

In December, Litebulb issued a profit warning as its Go Entertainment books and DVDs arm had suffered a slowdown and its start-up US office was being closed after less than a year.

Loan notes of £1.8m were issued in an agreement with Henderson Volantis Capital and Novum Securities in early 2013 as the company sought expansion capital alongside the acquisition of toys and gifts designer Bluwstuff Limited.

Other loan notes on the books include £2m more of three-year loan notes agreed with Henderson Volantis Capital and Novum Securities in April 2014 as further expansion capital alongside the acquisition of Go Entertainment, with another £3.5m of three-year notes issued in December that year alongside the acquisition of Concept Merchandise.

Shares in the AIM-listed group fell 25% to a new all-time low of 1.4p, having sunk almost 97% from the 46.5p at which it entered 2015.