Worthington Nicholls bagged the cash from various institutional investors and VCTs, ahead of its AIM admission.

Of the £20 million raised at 50p, £12.5 million gave a partial exit to founder Peter Worthington, whilst the remaining £7.5 million was fresh cash. This will likely be used for acquisitions, in the UK and Europe, and for organic investment, with Worthington Nicholls citing demand from hotel and retail clients (including Holiday Inn and Arcadia) for sole supplier deals across their European operations.

The float secured a debut market price tag of £32.5 million for fast-growing Worthington Nicholls. A clearly delighted Mark Worthington, chief executive, and son of Peter, boasted that despite recent stock market vacillations, ‘our fundraising remained oversubscribed’.