Laybuy Completes A$35m Placement to Accelerate Growth in the UK Market

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) provider Laybuy, today confirmed it has successfully undertaken a capital raise for A$35m from new and existing institutional investors, providing the company funding to drive continued growth in the United Kingdom. Laybuy Managing Director Gary Rohloff says Laybuy has already experienced strong growth in the UK, and the new funding will be used to accelerate this by allowing further investment in technology, marketing and people.    “The opportunity in the UK market should not be underestimated. The UK has a retail market approximately 2.2 times larger than the Australian market in terms of overall spending. It is also a market where a higher proportion of retail spending is online, and where BNPL is still in early stages of adoption,” says Rohloff.   “Laybuy is already widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading BNPL providers, with consumers spending more than £151 million through Laybuy in the past year, up 504% on prior year.   “This capital raise is an important step for Laybuy, enabling the company to continue its strong momentum and to capitalise on the significant growth opportunity in the UK market. We believe this will maximise shareholder value in the longer term.”    New Strategic Partnership    Laybuy also confirmed today that it is entering into strategic partnerships with Rakuten, AWIN and Sovrn, which will see Laybuy customers having access to over 5,000 merchants in the UK, including household brands ASOS, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Amazon and eBay.    These partnerships will enable customers to use Laybuy’s innovative “Tap to Pay” digital card with these merchants, allowing them to pay with Laybuy both online and in-store without further merchant integration or direct relationship required.    Key relationships have already been established with leading retailers through the affiliate networks, bolstering the launch of the product and supporting significant increases in gross merchandise value (GMV) capabilities and customer satisfaction.    Capital Raise    The capital raise consists of a two-tranche placement to raise A$35 million and a share purchase plan to existing eligible shareholders in Australia and New Zealand to raise up to A$5 million (SPP).    All shares issued under the Placement and SPP will rank equally with existing fully paid ordinary shares in Laybuy as of the date of this announcement.  Placement The Placement will be undertaken in two tranches:   

• the issue of 26,169,334 shares at A$0.50 per share, raising a total of A$13.1 million before costs, utilising Laybuy’s existing placement capacity under ASX Listing Rule 7.1 (First Tranche); and   
• the issue of 43,830,666 shares at A$0.50 per share, raising a total of A$21.9 million before costs (Second Tranche). The Second Tranche is subject to shareholder approval at a special meeting of shareholders to be held in June 2021.
• The issue price under the Placement represents:   

• a 26.5% discount to the last closing price of Laybuy’s shares on ASX on 17 May 2021 (the last day before the announcement of the Placement and SPP); and a 26.0% discount to the 5-day volume-weighted average price of Laybuy’s shares ended 17 May 2021. The Placement is not underwritten.  

A$0.50 per share). The SPP will provide such shareholders the opportunity to increase their holding by up to A$30,000 without incurring any brokerage or transaction costs.    The SPP aims to raise approximately A$5 million and is not underwritten. Laybuy may (in its absolute discretion) scale-back applications on a pro-rata basis if total demand exceeds A$5 million.   Share Purchase Plan    Existing eligible shareholders, being those shareholders that are residents in Australia or New Zealand that held Laybuy shares as of 7:00 pm (Sydney time) on 18 May 2021, will be invited to participate in the SPP at the same issue price as the Placement Existing eligible shareholders wishing to participate in the SPP should carefully read the SPP Offer Booklet and accompanying form, which are expected to be dispatched on or around 26 May 2021. A copy of the SPP Offer Booklet will also be available on the ASX website.  The SPP is also subject to shareholder approval at a special meeting of shareholders to be held in June 2021. Applications under the SPP received prior to that meeting will be refunded if the approval is not given.   Use of Funds    Laybuy primarily intends to use the capital raised from the Placement and SPP to accelerate growth in the United Kingdom. Laybuy has seen significant growth in the United Kingdom (including growth in its gross merchandise value (GMV) of 504% over the last financial year). Laybuy has several competitive advantages that will help it expand in this market, including exclusive partnerships, scalable technology and product innovation.    In particular, Laybuy intends to use the proceeds of the Placement and SPP (net of costs and expenses):   

• to provide further funding to support Laybuy’s growth strategies in the United Kingdom;   
• to invest in marketing and sales professionals to support the growth of the business in the United Kingdom;   
• to invest in technology and products to continue the development of Laybuy’s product offering for both consumers and merchants; and   

for general working capital. Following completion of the placement and the SPP Laybuy will have a pro forma cash balance of NZ$59.3 million1.   For further information, please refer to the Investor Presentation released to the ASX today.   https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02376094-2A1298860?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4