Directa Plus qualifies for Italian government loans

Graphene nanoplatelet technology company Directa Plus has qualified for a total of €0.7m in loans under the Italian government's Covid-19 recovery plan, it announced on Monday.

The AIM-traded firm said it took advantage of the low-cost liquidity offered by the Italian Government, to accelerate its strategic programme.

It said the funds were being provided in two tranches by Intesa Sanpaolo, being a €0.5m loan and a €0.2m leasing loan to fund the acquisition of new machinery for the company's production facility.

The loans carried a term of between five and six years, a variable interest rate of 1.5% to 1.8% plus three-month Euribor, and were 80% to 90% guaranteed by the Italian government.

Exploiting the same government measure, the firm said it was negotiating with another major Italian bank for an additional € 0.5m loan.

“This measure offered by the Italian government to respond to the Covid crisis will be utilised by Directa to accelerate activities in areas where our G+ graphene has a significant competitive advantage, like environmental, batteries, antiviral and antibacterial textiles,” said founder and chief executive officer Giulio Cesareo.

At 1219 BST, shares in Directa Plus were up 0.89% at 101.9p.