NCC Group and THG investor Kelso Group Holdings is looking to raise an initial £1m to expand its portfolio – although the figure could eventually rise to £2m.
Kelso believes the depressed UK stock market is the perfect time for investment and believes the extra firepower will enable it to grow its investments from five to ‘seven or eight’.
Kelso is an activist investor and was established in November 2022 to ‘unlock trapped value’ in the UK stock market.
It specifically looks for companies where it believes the current share price doesn’t reflect the real value of the business.
On Tuesday morning, Kelso announced that its original £1m fundraising had been ‘upsized’ with a further announcement on the outcome to be made ‘in due course’.
The fundraising will be by way of a placing and subscription of new ordinary shares.
Previous fundraises
Kelso has carried out three previous fundraises, raising £3m in January 2023 at a price of 2p per share; £3m in June 2023 at a price of 2.5p per share and £1.9m in February 2024 at a price of 3p per share.
The latest fundraising is expected to be undertaken at a placing price of 3p per share and will be carried out within the company’s existing shareholder authorities and with no requirement to publish a prospectus.
Kelso, which is c.20 per cent owned by the board of directors, currently has five investments and a strategy of driving value enhancement through active engagement.
CEO John Goold (pictured), who was chief executive of Zeus from 2012-2021 and is a non-executive director of Debenhams Group, said: “Now that the budget is out of the way we think that UK small / mid cap can begin a proper rally which should last several years.”
Kelso’s non-executive chairman is Sir Nigel Knowles, CEO of law form DWF Group.
The fundraising will be carried by Kelso’s broker Zeus Capital.