Ocado, the high-end online supermarket, has raised £578m in order to facilitate its technology rollout.
The funds were raised through a discounted share placement. By issuing over 72 million shares priced at 795p — an almost 10 per cent discount from their market price of 877.6p — raised £575m. The additional three million was raised through 106,000 shares bought by senior management.
Ocado has said the money will be used to "bring solutions to market even faster", hinting at improving online and digital processes. Ocado’s niche as an online supermarket paid dividends during the pandemic, where its established structures helped business to go on as normal, while other supermarkets scrambled to increase their online capacity. Now, post-lockdown, Ocado aims to continue along this trajectory and improve its digital and online capabilities.
Additionally, Ocado has announced the introduction of a flexible £300m revolving credit facility.
A spokesperson for Ocado commented: "The shift to online grocery accelerated significantly with the Covid-19 pandemic and industry data suggests that this change will continue, as customers continue to demand greater convenience for their online shopping,"
"Ocado Group continues to make the most of the ever-growing demand by ramping up capacity, both by reaching new geographies and expanding their ability to deliver to customers within these areas. The urgency to bring online grocery solutions to market is at the forefront of customers' minds."