pounds 2.18m Roxspur rights issue

Roxspur, the specialist engineering group whose shares were suspended last month at 6.5p, is to raise pounds 2.18m through a four-for-nine rights issue at 3p. The company also announced a pre-tax loss of pounds 2.9m for the 13 months to June. There is no dividend.

Ian Orrock, chairman, said actions so far taken to restructure Roxspur into profit and to control costs had resulted in a "turnaround" in the three months to September, which had been achieved against a background of uncertainty and severe working capital pressure.

Roxspur fell into difficulties following its ambitious acquisition in April of Wills, a pumps and valves company four times its size and in a much worse financial state than expected. Roxspur financed the acquisition of Wills with a placing and open offer of shares at 17p each.