Ambitious businesses always have one eye on the next big step in their journey. It might mean launching new services, purchasing a larger premise or expanding overseas. However, not all businesses have the capital sitting in the bank to put those plans in place. Thankfully, there are numerous ways of raising equity to make these dreams a reality, and we have extensive experience in guiding clients through these various processes.
A craft brewer that we work closely with asked us to support them through an equity raise. Having already supported the business over a number of years, we knew the potential of the brewery to expand its service offering and grow exponentially.
After considering and trialling multiple options, we settled upon Crowdcube, a platform which enables businesses of all shapes and sizes to raise finance through equity, and which has proved a success for other Champion clients. To support the brewery in their equity raise, we:
- Drafted an EIS advanced assurance letter, gaining assurance from HMRC
- Assisted with the company’s financial and tax due diligence, including cash flow forecasts and P&Ls
- Reviewed the financial information included within their business plan and Information Memorandum
- Assisted with responses to questions on the Crowdcube platform from potential investors
- Prepared the completion documentation to finalise the equity investment
The brewery’s head of finance said: “Pitching to investors, in person and online, was a whole new world for us, but David Herd and the team at Champion Accountants supported us every step of the way. After also holding a series of events at the brewery we suddenly found ourselves with more than 1,400 new shareholders; we pitched for £0.5m but raised just under £1m when we closed.”
After the equity raise, we supported the brewery on how to communicate with their new shareholders, which, following the campaign, had seen its shareholding expand to almost 1,500 people overnight.
The company’s head of finance added: “We are a little family of people, and David supported us in understanding what we needed to disclose to our shareholders but what we could also keep private, so that our financial information wouldn’t leak out of the business and pose any risk to our growth.
“David is always there for us and there’s no question too small; he always gives us the time of day. Even if I contact him out of hours to organise a call the following day, he will often ring me there and then to chat and put my mind at rest. He has a great way of explaining things in a clear, concise and simple manner, which is quite rare in the finance and accounting profession.”
Businesses looking to expand through an equity raise can contact our senior tax advisory consultant, David Herd, at david.herd@championgroup.co.uk.
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