Date: Monday 12 Jul 2010
Online food retailer Ocado’s auditors have raised concerns about whether the business can continue without substantial investment.
Ocado, which delivers products from the high-end supermarket Waitrose, is about to embark on a fundraising and stockmarket listing. It is intending to float at the end of this month at around £1bn, with shares in the company trading at about 200p to 275p, and is seeking to raise about £200m.
However, auditors for the company, which has failed to post a pre-tax profit despite strong sales, said there was uncertainty over the company’s ability to continue as a ‘going concern’ without the £200m fundraising.
Ocado hit back at suggestions that the company’s future would be at risk without a cash injection. A spokesman was quoted as saying that it was ‘completely misleading to suggest that there is a funding issue at Ocado.’
Apart from a distribution centre in Hertfordshire, Ocado has few assets, though is does have a lucrative agreement to supply Waitrose products until 2020. While it has yet to achieve profitability, orders per week are expected to grow to about 222,000 by 2014, from 70,000 currently.
Ocado, which delivers products from the high-end supermarket Waitrose, is about to embark on a fundraising and stockmarket listing. It is intending to float at the end of this month at around £1bn, with shares in the company trading at about 200p to 275p, and is seeking to raise about £200m.However, auditors for the company, which has failed to post a pre-tax profit despite strong sales, said there was uncertainty over the company’s ability to continue as a ‘going concern’ without the £200m fundraising.
Ocado hit back at suggestions that the company’s future would be at risk without a cash injection. A spokesman was quoted as saying that it was ‘completely misleading to suggest that there is a funding issue at Ocado.’
Apart from a distribution centre in Hertfordshire, Ocado has few assets, though is does have a lucrative agreement to supply Waitrose products until 2020. While it has yet to achieve profitability, orders per week are expected to grow to about 222,000 by 2014, from 70,000 currently. 
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