LONDON: Samarkand Group plc, the cross-border eCommerce technology and retail group, has raised £17 million in an over-subscribed fundraising, a news release said.

On March 08, Samarkand Group announced its intention to apply for admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the Apex segment of the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market and that the Company was proposing to raise approximately £10 million by way of a placing to institutional investors and a subscription to qualifying investors.

Following an investor roadshow undertaken by VSA Capital, the Fundraising was significantly oversubscribed and the Company is therefore pleased to announce that it (gross) conditional on Admission.

The fundraising received strong interest from institutional and Individual Investors and was significantly oversubscribed.

Despite the Fundraising increasing from £10m to £17m, applications by Individual Investors and Institutional Investors had to be scaled back significantly. Given the strong demand for shares, the Company and VSA Capital were mindful of the desire to ensure a broad spread of shareholders and strong liquidity once trading began.

Institutional Investors were scaled back by as much as 50%.

Allocations for Individual Investors subscribing for smaller blocks of shares were made so as to satisfy such applications substantially in full. For example, subscribers for up to £30,000 of shares received over 75% allocations. For the wide range of larger applications from Individual Investors, allocations were scaled back on similar lines to institutional investors.

David Hampstead, CEO of Samarkand, said: “We’re thrilled with the reaction that we’ve received and look forward to welcoming our new shareholders. This is a clear validation of our business model and I would like to thank our employees, customers, partners and existing shareholders for helping us to reach this exciting stage. Our upcoming flotation on the Aquis Stock Exchange is a hugely significant moment for Samarkand. The increased capital raise will enable us to invest across all aspects of the business and help us take full advantage of the market opportunity.”

Samarkand is a cross-border eCommerce technology and retail group focusing on connecting Western Brands with China, the world’s largest eCommerce market. The Group has developed a proprietary software platform, the Nomad platform, which is integrated across all necessary touch-points required for eCommerce in China including eCommerce platforms, payments, logistics, social media and customs.

The Nomad platform is the foundation on which the Group’s Nomad technology and service solutions are built. The core products include Nomad Checkout, Nomad Storefront, Nomad Commerce, Nomad Distribution and Nomad Analytics. The Company’s current customer base comprises leading European brands such as 111SKIN, Shay & Blue, Omorovicza, ICONIC London, Philip Kingsley, Temple Spa, Zita West Products and Planet Organic. Samarkand has also successfully grown its own brand, Probio7, acquired in December 2017.

Founded in 2016, Samarkand is headquartered in London, UK with an office in Shanghai employing over 90 staff. https://www.samarkand.global/