Struggling Fitbug turns to crowdfunding in a change of strategy
Technology firm Fitbug is to offer investors the chance to participate in a £2.6m fundraise as it looks to continue the process of a “turnaround drive” led by chief executive Anna Gudmundson. The firm, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s alternative investment market (Aim), has already raised £852,000 through institutional investors.
Investors on equity crowdfunding platform SyndicateRoom will have have the chance to invest for the remaining £1.76m. SyndicateRoom is the only crowdfunding platform to have intermediary status with the London Stock Exchange which, the firm says, means it is the only alternative investing platform that gives retail investors access to public and private shares.
“Fitbug’s decision to raise via SyndicateRoom demonstrates our unique ability to offer interesting capital market opportunities that can’t be found elsewhere by retail investors,” said the site’s head of capital markets, Tom Hinton.
“It’s fantastic to see the platform helping companies access a broad pool of demand and market capital raises in such an innovative way.”
The company is known for its budget fitness tracker, the Fitbug Orb and its WoW Bluetooth scale. However, in an overly saturated market for fitness wearables, Fitbug has struggled to gain traction, leading to pretax losses of £6.3m earlier this year. The company has now focused its attention on the corporate wellness and B2B market, which it hopes will turn around its business fortunes. The US corporate wellness market is predicted to grow 8.4% annually over the next five years to over $12bn.
“Having assessed a range of finance options to support our short-term and long-term working capital needs, we were particularly excited by the prospect of offering new shares to investors via SyndicateRoom,” said Gudmundson.
“With its recent membership of the London Stock Exchange, SyndicateRoom is the only platform that could effectively distribute our shares direct to crowdfund investors, enabling us to expand the number of owner-advocates for our business as we focus on becoming a leader within this space by delivering an innovative app-based technology to enhance employee wellness.”
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