Ethical etailer Adili said sales have been below expectations since its fundraising in August.

The company said it had suffered from its change of name trading name to Ascension earlier in the year and the later than planned openings of its first retail stores, which had been delayed due to the fundraising.

The board expects that it will need to find a modest amount of new working capital in February/March next year and although it hopes to do so without recourse to shareholders it said it could not rule out that option at this stage.  

Adili added that it had seen an acceleration of growth on its website and in stores and that its rebranding had been received well by customers.

It added that its new retail stores, one in London’s St Christopher’s Place and a clearance store in Dorchester, have traded above target. It said its clearance store would also help to reduce the need for significant stock write offs.  

In its full year to April 30 Adili’s sales were up 56% to £552,000. Pre-tax losses widened for the business to £1.9m from £1.5m the year before.

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