Snoozebox raises £8.4m after issuing new shares

Portable hotel accommodation business Snoozebox has raised £8.4m after issuing new shares in the business, enabling it to manufacture an additional 120 rooms.

The placing of 15.2m new shares will finance the expansion of the business to 640 rooms. While £3.75m will be used to pay for the development of the new rooms, £3.25m will be used to refinance the existing room stock and the remainder will be directed towards working capital and transaction costs.

Launched at the F1 British Grand Prix in 2011, Snoozebox has this year provided more than 20,000 room nights at ten events including the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant, the Isle of Man TT, Hainault Forest Country Park for Olympic security personnel, the Edinburgh Festival and Royal Tattoo and Goodwood Revival.

Those events which will take place again in 2013 have rebooked the company to provide temporary hotel accommodation, generally with an increased number of rooms. Looking ahead to 2014, Snoozebox is set to provide rooms for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

Franchise and licence opportunities are also being pursued in India, the Middle East, Russia and elsewhere.

In addition to its standard double rooms, the company is developing up to 117 new family rooms for up to four people, including some allowing wheelchair access. A number of these rooms will to be located at Thorpe Park during 2013,

Robert Breare, chief executive of Snoozebox, said he was delighted with the support that the company has received from existing shareholders and new investors. "We are excited by the increasing demand for our products both in this country and overseas. The additional capital raised will allow us to continue to exploit our first mover advantage."

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