Thu 9th Jun 2016 - Time Out raises £90m ahead of AIM listing to help expand food market concept Time Out raises £90m ahead of AIM listing to help expand food market concept: Time Out Group, the brand that aims to “inspire and enable people to make the best of their city”, has conditionally raised £90m ahead of an AIM listing as it looks to expand its food market concept. The company launched its food market in Lisbon two years ago, which for the years ended 31 December 2014 and 2015 generated revenue of £1.2m and £2.0m respectively. It said it had issued 60 million shares at 150p a piece. The fundraising values the business at £195m, with shares set to start trading on AIM next week. Time Out said it plans to use the proceeds of the listing to push further into online commerce and build a series of food markets. The company stated: “The directors believe the Time Out market concept has the potential to attract millions of customers and to enhance customers’ physical and digital connection to the Time Out brand. The group sees opportunities to expand the market concept internationally and is in advanced discussions, but has not yet entered into any binding arrangements, regarding potential new markets in London, New York, Miami, Berlin and Porto.” The original market, Time Out Market Lisboa at Mercado da Ribeira in Lisbon, is a 70,000 square foot market hall that brings together some of the city’s favourite food shops, restaurants and cultural happenings. It attracts 35,000 to 60,000 people per week during peak season, and is now the number one shopping destination in the city on TripAdvisor. In March, the company appointed Didier Souillat, former executive vice-president at Hakkasan Group, as chief executive of Time Out Market to lead the international expansion of the concept. The company is also working with companies such as reservation sites OpenTable, Encore and See Tickets to enable customers to make restaurant booking and purchase tickets for events directly through its websites and apps. It takes a commission of each transaction, equivalent to about £3 per restaurant booking and 10% of ticket sales. Founded as a magazine in London in 1968, Time Out has evolved into an international multimedia group providing restaurant, entertainment and shopping listings across 107 cities in 39 countries.