N Brown shareholders approve fundraising and move to AIM

N Brown shareholders voted for the company's £100m capital raising and its move from the London main market to AIM.

The womenswear company announced the fundraising on 5 November to cut debt and invest in its digital sales platform. The transaction was underwritten by N Brown's founder and biggest shareholder David Alliance.

N Brown said it expected the fundraising and switch to AIM, approved at a meeting on Monday, to become effective on 23 December. Shareholders have until 14 December to sign up to the share offer.

The owner of fashion brands Jacamo and JD Williams is moving to AIM to reflect its depleted market value, reduce administration requirements and accede to Alliance's requirement for supporting the capital raising.

"The company is pleased to announce that all of the resolutions set out in the notice of the general meeting appended to the prospectus were passed at the general meeting," N Brown said.

N Brown will use about £77m of the £94m net proceeds to pay off unsecured debt. It will spend the rest upgrading its website and developing a better customer credit platform after shifting its business online from catalogues.

The company's shares rose 4.9% to 59.25p at 11:33 GMT. The shares have fallen from 350p in September 2017.

N Brown's first-half profit fell 25% £14.1m as revenue fell 17.6% to £356.7m, it said on 5 November.