Bitcoin owner Smarter Web Company raises £30m after stock rockets
The Smarter Web Company has raised £29.3m in a new share offer as the Aquis-listed tech firm cashes in on continued investor enthusiasm for the stock.
The Guildford-based business said it had raised £1.5m via a subscription and £27.8m via an accelerated bookbuild with institutional investors, with an offer price of 180p.
The Smarter Web Company, which offers web design, web development and online marketing services, has seen its stock nearly triple in the weeks since its April float to give it a market cap of nearly £400m, making it the most valuable constituent on Aquis. The company has now raised funds five times since the IPO.
That has come on the back of the firm’s wholehearted embrace of cryptocurrencies, through which it has built a significant crypto holding via its policy of accepting payment in Bitcoin.
Smarter Web Company takes ‘pioneering approach’
The firm has adopted a “Bitcoin Treasury Policy” under which its reserves are held in the digital asset, emulating a Bitcoin model successfully tried by US firm MicroStrategy.
“The company believes that Bitcoin forms a core part of the future of the global financial system and as the company explores opportunities through organic growth and corporate acquisitions is pioneering the adoption of a Bitcoin Treasury Policy into its strategy,” Smarter Web Company said.
Smarter Web Company now owns 242.34 Bitcoins with a market value of just under £20m. Much of that Bitcoin holding has been purchased over the past 30 days.
The company’s founder, ex-Hargreaves Lansdown head of digital Andrew Webley, controls a 13.4 per cent stake in the business worth £50m.
“By taking a pioneering approach to treasury management using digital assets, including Bitcoin, we believe we offer investors an excellent opportunity,” Webley said.
“In addition to organic growth, the company will progress an acquisition strategy targeting other businesses with a view to growing its number of clients and / or recurring revenue,” the firm said.