Addleshaw Goddard has advised The City Pub Group plc on its £15m placing and an open offer to raise up to £7m following the initial impact of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. 

The placing received strong support from existing shareholders and institutional investors through the issue of 30 million new shares at 50 pence each. The open offer will also allow existing shareholders of the Company the opportunity to subscribe for up to a further £7 million of shares. The fundraising is to strengthen the balance sheet of City Pubs in the wake of the Government's mandatory closure of pubs, bars and restaurants and to provide the Company with the firepower to expand its portfolio of pubs when the right opportunities arise and at prices which may be reduced in the shorter term. 

The AG team was led by Anna Brown. 

Anna said: "Despite the unprecedented challenges facing many companies at the moment, this fundraise ably demonstrates that there is still strong investor appetite for companies with strong and decisive management teams, a clear strategy and healthy underlying fundamentals. This is a decisive strategic move by City Pubs in the face of a forced shut down of its business but which will enable them to strengthen the balance sheet, streamline the operations and react quickly as opportunities present themselves to further expand its portfolio of premium pubs. The team at Addleshaw Goddard are delighted to have again supported City Pubs with this key fundraise to strengthen its business, being able to respond to the short timetables that the rapidly changing landscape demand and provide seamless support in the new remote working environment".

The deal is one of four fundraisings for a UK listed, or quoted, public company that Addleshaw's team has advised on in the last week. Giles Distin, in Addleshaw Goddard's equity capital markets group, said: "The good news is that the equity markets are still open. That's true not simply, for example, for companies who have existing share allotment authorities they have yet to use up (and can, therefore, execute equity raises quickly and simply) but, more importantly, for strong, decisive businesses who react quickly to these changing times. No one is denying that things are really tough for a lot of companies, but this sort of fundraising activity shows that investor support continues and there are still good reasons for hoping that we will see a return to something approaching business as usual for many companies once the crisis has passed."