The online musical instrument retailer Gear4music, which sells Fender Stratocasters and Gibson guitars, plans to open a flagship store in London’s Soho, known as the centre of the UK music industry for much of the 20th century.
The York-based company, established 12 years ago, is expected to raise £10.3m when it floats on the alternative investment market (Aim) next week.
The placing price for the shares has been set at 139p, which gives the company a valuation of £28m. Since it was set up by chief executive Andrew Wass in 2003, Gear4music has grown to operate websites that do business in 19 different countries and 15 languages. A number of the brands sold through Gear4music dictate that there should be a physical space for their products to be shown off.
The proceeds from the fundraising will be used to develop e-commerce technology and open the Soho store in the region of Denmark Street, once celebrated as Britain’s Tin Pan Alley because of the array of instrument shops, music magazines and publishing houses based there.
Proceeds from the float will also be used for marketing plans and expanding the range of products the company offers.
