Forest of Dean advanced materials engineering group Versarien has raised over £531,000 through the placing of new shares.

Versarien placed 42,529,900 new ordinary shares at a price of 1.25 pence per share. The net proceeds of the placing will be used for general operational and working capital purposes and for commercialisation activities primarily in the construction and leisure sectors, in line with the company's new strategic roadmap which is being finalised.

Following the resignation of Versarien founder and CEO Neill Ricketts in March, David Stone and his team at Prompt Business Strategies Ltd have been engaged to aid the board in developing both its strategic and management plans.

A company statement said: "Since the AGM [on March 29], David and his team have been working closely with the board to develop a strategy that seeks to preserve appropriate intellectual property within the company, whilst significantly reducing operational costs to facilitate a cash runway that will allow Versarien to deliver commercially in its targeted markets.

"The new strategic roadmap and financial plan will be announced in the coming weeks. In addition, the company continues to progress and assess asset disposal options, including disposing of the mature businesses, that are no longer core activities for Versarien.."

Chris Leigh, chief financial officer of Versarien, said: "As previously announced, the company requires further funding to support its activities and the board welcomes the investor interest in this placing.

"We continue to focus on completing our strategic reorganisation and commercial roadmap and look forward to sharing this with shareholders in due course."