Results of Placing and Subscription
Avacta Group plc has successfully raised £12.5 million through a placing and subscription of new ordinary shares at 68 pence per share, representing approximately 3.9% of its existing share capital. This fundraising, which occurred at a slight discount to the previous closing price, is expected to extend the company's cash runway into the second quarter of 2027 and fund it through significant value inflection points, including anticipated clinical efficacy data for AVA6103 in the first half of 2027. The company's shares are expected to resume trading on AIM on October 9, 2026, following the admission of the new shares.
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LONDON and PHILADELPHIA – October 6, 2026 – Avacta Therapeutics (AIM: AVCT, “the Company”, “Avacta”), a life sciences company developing innovative, targeted oncology drugs, is pleased to announce that, further to the Company’s announcement at 4:22 p.m. on 5 October 2026 (the “Launch Announcement”), the Company has conditionally raised gross proceeds of £12.5 million through the Placing of 17,411,766 new Ordinary Shares (the "Placing Shares") and Subscription for 970,587 new Ordinary Shares (the "Subscription Shares"), in each case, both at a price of 68 pence per Ordinary Share (the “Issue Price”).
The Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares in aggregate represent approximately 3.9 per cent of the existing issued ordinary share capital of the Company and the Issue Price represents a discount of approximately 5.6 per cent to the closing mid-market price of 72 pence per Ordinary Share on 29 September 2026, being the last trading day prior to the commencement of the Company’s Capital Access Window. The Placing and Subscription are conditional, inter alia, on Admission occurring and the Placing Agreement not being terminated prior to Admission.
Zeus Capital Limited ("Zeus Capital") acted as sole broker and sole bookrunner (the "Bookrunner") in connection with the Placing and Subscription. Beech Hill Securities, Inc. ("Beech Hill") acted as private placement agent (“Placing Agent”) to the Company.
Christina Coughlin, CEO of Avacta, commented:
| “Avacta has made considerable progress through 2026, with our Next-Generation Controlled-Release pre | CISION® candidate AVA6103 moving rapidly from Investigational New Drug approval to the clinic and the delivery of the first data showing the controlled-release mechanism is working in patients precisely as intended. Our other pipeline assets are also progressing, including the Next-Gen dual-payload program AVA6207 and the first-generation pre | CISION® candidate AVA6000 (faridoxorubicin) continuing in Phase 1b development. |
| “This Fundraise demonstrates tremendous confidence in Avacta and in our pre | CISION platform’s ability to expand the reach of highly potent cancer treatments that have been limited by toxicities. It extends our cash runway into Q2 2027 and funds the Company through multiple value inflection points with transformative potential. Most notably, we anticipate the first clinical efficacy data for AVA6103 in H1 2027, as well as the selection of a clinical candidate for our dual-payload program AVA6207 this quarter, ahead of progression towards IND-enabling studies. The Fundraise also strengthens our partnering position as we continue to pursue discussions to maximize the value of our pipeline assets.” |
Close of Capital Access Window and Resumption of Trading
Following completion of the Fundraise, the Company confirms that the Capital Access Window, which commenced at 7.30 am on 30 September 2026, is now closed. Accordingly, the Company's existing Ordinary Shares are expected to resume trading on AIM at 7.30 am today.
Capitalized terms used in this announcement but not otherwise defined have the meanings given to them in the Launch Announcement, unless the context provides otherwise.
Director Subscriptions
As described in the Launch Announcement, certain Directors, being Richard Hughes, Patrick Vink, David Byrant and Mats Blom (the "Participating Directors"), have subscribed for 970,587 new Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price, representing an aggregate investment of approximately £660,000 pursuant to the Subscription.
| Director | Position | Aggregate Subscription Amount | Number of Subscription Shares | Resultant Shareholding | % of Enlarged Share Capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Hughes | Non-Executive Chairman | £500,000 | 735,294 | 1,528,945 | 0.31 |
| Patrick Vink | Non-Executive Deputy Chairman | £75,000 | 110,294 | 110,294 | 0.02 |
| David Bryant | Non-Executive Director | £50,000 | 73,529 | 152,894 | 0.03 |
| Mats Blom | Non-Executive Director | £35,000 | 51,470 | 51,470 | 0.01 |
Related Party Transactions
Participation of Zeus Capital in the Placing
Zeus Capital subscribed for 180,001 Ordinary Shares at the Issue Price, for a consideration of £122,400.68 (the "Zeus Placing Participation"). Richard Hughes, Non-Executive Chairman of the Company, is an associate of Zeus Capital, being a director and majority shareholder of Zeus Capital. Accordingly, Zeus Capital is a related party of the Company, and the Zeus Placing Participation constitutes a related party transaction under Rule 13 of the AIM Rules for Companies.
The independent directors of the Company for the purposes of assessing the Zeus Placing Participation (being all the Directors other than Richard Hughes), having consulted with Strand Hanson, the Company's Nominated Adviser, consider that Zeus Placing Participation is fair and reasonable insofar as the Company's shareholders are concerned.
Admission and total voting rights
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the admission of the Placing Shares and Subscription Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). It is expected that Admission will become effective and dealings in such Ordinary Shares will commence at 8.00 a.m. on or around 9 October 2026. The Placing Shares and the Subscription Shares will be issued fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the Company's Existing Ordinary Shares.
Immediately following Admission, the Company's enlarged issued ordinary share capital will be 489,712,861 Ordinary Shares. This figure may be used by holders of Ordinary Shares ("Shareholders") as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
About FAP-Exd (AVA6103)
| 1 | Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated | |
| a) | Name | Richard Hughes Patrick Vink David Bryant Mats Blom |
| 2 | Reason for the notification | |
| a) | Position/status | Non-Executive Chairman Non-Executive Deputy Chairman Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director |
| b) | Initial notification /Amendment | Initial notification |
| a) | Name | Avacta Group Plc |
| b) | LEI | 2138009U3EG31OPMGH36 |
| a) | Description of the financial instrument, type of instrument Identification code | Ordinary Shares of 10p each in the Company GB00BYYW9G87 |
| b) | Nature of the transaction | Subscription for Ordinary Shares |
| c) | Price(s) and volume(s) | Purchase of shares: Price Volume(s) i 68p 735,294 ii. 68p 110,294 iii. 68p 73,529 iv. 68p 51,470 |
| d) | Aggregated information - Aggregated volume - Price - Total Value | 970,587 68p £659,999 |
| e) | Date of the transaction | 6 October 2026 |
| f) | Place of the transaction | LSE, AIM Market |
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.