Time Out looks to raise £17m in upcoming fundraise
Time Out is looking to raise £17m as part of an upcoming fundraise ahead of what it hopes will be a renaissance of culture and going out in the city.
The publisher and markets owner will tap markets for £2m more than initially planned following strong demand from institutional investors.
The £17m represents 17.1 per cent of the company’s shares.
Chief executive Julio Bruno said: “Thanks to the support of our shareholders and new investors, this successful fundraise will allow Time Out to emerge from this period of disruption in a stronger position.
“We now look forward to once again opening the doors of our existing Time Out Markets and to opening new ones in great cities around the world.”
In February, the chief executive told Morning Wire that he had high hopes for both Time Out and city centres more widely.
“We are expecting a renaissance post-Covid, a renaissance of culture and going out. I’m sure there’ll be much more appreciation of it.”
Though no one could have predicted the outbreak of coronavirus, few companies were blighted by worse timing than Time Out.
In the face of shrinking revenue from its core events listings business, the media group spent recent years shifting its focus to a new offering of food and culture markets.
But when the pandemic set in last March, FTSE-listed Time Out was forced to shutter its food halls. To make matters worse, the firm’s largely travel and leisure-focused magazine and website was hit by a record slump in advertising spend.