Member Article

Lancashire automotive specialists to raise development funds

Torotrak, the Lancashire based specialists in emissions reduction and fuel efficiency technology for vehicles, is seeking to raise £13.8 million via a firm placing, a placing and open offer, and a subscription deal with Allison Transmission Inc.

The firm, based in Leyland near Preston, is to issue 128.6 million shares under the firm placing, 69.1 million shares under an open offer, and 21.4 million shares under the Allison Transmission subscription.

It is also proposing amendments to its acquisition agreement for Flybrid, which it purchased in early 2014. The proposals require approval by shareholders at a general meeting to be held in July.

Funds raised from the issue will be used to finance the production and commercialisation of Torotrak’s KERS technology, to back the development of its V-Charge technology and boost other technology development at the company.

The company reported its unaudited preliminary results for the year ending 31 March 2015. These show that the company had a cash balance of £7.6 million at the end of the period.

Torotrak also posted a widened pretax loss of £8.4 million, compared to £4.7 million in the previous year, as revenue rose to £3.8 million from £3.5 million. The company says the loss was driven by higher spending on its technology portfolio and lower licensing revenue in the year.

Adam Robson, Torotrak Chief Executive, said: “I am pleased that we have launched the fund raise, restructured the Flybrid acquisition agreement as, together with the implementation of the reorganisation, this will create a platform for financial stability and growth.

“The executive management team is completely focused on commercialising the Group’s technologies, building on the progress made in the last year on bus KERS and V-Charge in particular. We are working with our partners to deliver value to Torotrak Shareholders.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .