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Sosandar raises £3m through share placing as sales soar

Lauretta Roberts
10 October 2018

Online women's fashion brand Sosandar has raised £3m through a share placing, which it will use to further its development, following strong institutional investment interest.

Arranged by Shore Capital, the placing comprises 9,375,000 ordinary shares at a price of 32p per share for institutional investors. The placing is subject to admission of the placing shares to trading on the AIM market, which is expected to occur at 8am on 15 October 2018.

Sosandar, which was founded in September 2016, was admitted to AIM in November of last year in an IPO priced at 14.1p per share and which raised £5.3m for the company.

Joint founders and CEOs Julie Lavington and Ali Hall said of the move: "We are delighted to announce that we have successfully raised £3 million following strong institutional investor interest in the Company. The Placing Price is at a very significant premium to our IPO in November 2017 which we believe reflects the significant ongoing progress of the Company and its future prospects. The Company is well positioned to continue its growth and we look forward to the future with confidence."

In a trading update this morning the company said it expected to achieve sales of £1.84m in the six months to 30 September, a 407% increase against the same period in the prior year. Sosandar said it had experienced strong sales throughout the summer and into September, which had been a record month.

The strong growth was a reflection of the increasing efficiency of the company's customer acquisition activities across multiple channels, it said. The brand, which was founded by two publishing executives, uses strong content and influencer-driven marketing to engage customers and, during the year to 30 September, has increased its Facebook and Instagram followings by 129% and 193% respectively.

During the six-month period its customer numbers increased by 320% year-on-year to 84,500, while the number of orders was up 446% to 43,979. Repeat orders increased by 615% to 19,126. Average order value was also up 9% to £105.42, however returns increased from 44% to 52%.

The brand positions itself as the go-to fashion destination for women who have grown out of the young fast-fashion retailers, such as ASOS, but who still want affordable trend-led clothing.

Lavington and Hall said in statement: "[...] we are delighted to have delivered such strong growth in revenues, orders and new customers. Pleasingly, this has been accompanied by a growing number of repeat customers and an increased average order value, as those customers already recruited become brand ambassadors. Our clothes have become a mainstay in our customers' wardrobes - including celebrities - and we are proud that our garments are being worn by high profile actresses, TV presenters, sports stars and social media influencers.

"At the same time, we have been able to make key operational progress that will further enhance the customer experience and have increased the efficiency of our marketing spend. Momentum has continued into the important Autumn/Winter period and we look forward to the rest of the year confidently."

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