Versarien plc, the Gloucestershire-based advanced materials engineering group, has announced it has raised £318,000, before expenses, through the issue of placing shares.

The company placed 10,600,000 new ordinary shares at a price of 3 pence per share.

The net proceeds of the placing will be used to continue Versarien's commercialisation work, primarily in the construction and leisure sectors and for general operational and working capital purposes

The issue of the placing shares uses the remaining existing authorities granted by shareholders at last September's annual general meeting and therefore no shareholder approval is required for the placing

Chris Leigh, chief financial officer of Versarien, said: "The funds raised through the placing will allow us to continue to progress the opportunities that we are seeing, particularly in our most advanced project areas in the construction and textile sectors.

"Having streamlined the business and with a renewed focus, we continue to believe the company has significant potential. We look forward to reporting on our progress in due course."

On Friday, Punchline reported that Neill Ricketts, the founder and chief executive of Versarien plc, had resigned from the company .

Mr Ricketts famously founded the advanced materials engineering company from his garage in 2010.

The company grew rapidly after floating on the London Stock Exchange in 2013, moving to a base at Staverton and then to a new headquarters at Longhope Business Park in the Forest of Dean.

The announcement of Mr Ricketts' resignation came as a big shock to the local business community.