Share placing to fund acquisition push
Garden centres retailer Blooms of Bressingham has placed 10 per cent of its share capital, raising approximately£1.74 million before expenses.

The move is intended to boost the retailer's acquisitions strategy, by making it better able to respond quickly to suitable acquisition opportunities.

Blooms chairman Charles Good said: 'We continue to be pleased with progress at our new sites at Gloucester and Rugby and our plans for developing our major new site at Bicester are progressing smoothly. Having demonstrated our ability to open up new sites very successfully, we are keen to have the resources in place to enable us to acquire another suitable site when one becomes available.'

Seymour Pierce head of equities Richard Ratner praised the retailer's strategy of concentrating on larger garden centres, but questioned the timing of the share placing, when the retailer still had opportunities to raise funds through property deals.

He said: 'We believe that the issue of new shares at this stage is unnecessary and next year could possibly be dilutive, and anyway it is time for fundraisings to cease.'