Online grocery retailer Ocado has completed a £50m financing to continue to grow the company, including an investment from former US vice-president and environmental campaigner Al Gore.
£30m was raised in new equity, giving an enterprise value of £625m for the business. As part of the equity raising, two new institutional investors have joined the shareholder register – Generation Investment Management, which is chaired and co-founded by Gore – and Fidelity International.
“We are very excited to welcome Fidelity International and Generation as new investors in Ocado,” said Jason Gissing, Ocado co-founder and CFO. “Fidelity is one of the world’s best known institutional investors. Generation’s investment approach is based on the idea that sustainability factors will drive a company’s returns over the long term.
“An Ocado delivery now has a lower carbon footprint (CO2 per £ of sales) than walking to a UK supermarket. That differential will continue to grow as Ocado grows in scale and size. We are incredibly proud of the sustainable aspect of our business, and very proud of the fact that a leader in sustainable investment has recognised what we are doing.”
The remaining £20m of financing was raised in the form of new debt offered by the Bank of London and the Middle East, and the Lloyds Banking Group.
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