Lender halts trading ahead of ‘significant’ capital raising

In an update to the ASX, Wisr Ltd has announced that it has requested a trading halt to be applied to its fully paid ordinary shares, with effect from the commencement of trading on Tuesday (14 January).

According to Wisr, the trading halt has been put in place ahead of a “significant issue of securities” upon the completion of a bookbuild designed to determine the price of the new share offerings.  

Wisr has stated that the bookbuild process is scheduled to take place over the course of one to two trading days, with an announcement regarding the results of the undertaking scheduled to be made before the commencement of trading on Thursday, 16 January.

The lender noted that it expects the trading halt to remain in place until Wisr formally announces the outcome of the prospective share placement, which it expects to make prior to commencement of trading on Thursday.  

The announcement of the trading halt comes just a day after Wisr reported a sharp increase in loan originations in the second quarter of the 2020 financial year (2Q20) when compared to the previous quarter, bringing its total loan originations figure to $163.8 million.

According to Wisr, it achieved $31.6 million in new loans originated in 2Q20, an increase of 36 per cent when compared to the previous quarter.

Further, the lender noted that its originations for the first half of the financial year (1H20) hit $54.9 million, an increase of 90 per cent when compared to the corresponding period and a 35 per cent increase on the second half of the 2019 financial year (2H19).

Commenting on the results, Wisr CEO Anthony Nantes said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Wisr as the company continues to grow its core lending business, while redefining what a consumer lending company can be.”

Mr Nantes noted the significance of the launch of Wisr’s $50-million NAB-funded warehouse facility, which was made live and operational in November 2019.

According to Wisr, the funding facility was created to increase debt capacity to fund growth, diversify funding partners to offset risks, improve overall margins and improve specific loan unit economics.

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Charbel Kadib is the news editor on the mortgages titles at Momentum Media.

Before joining the team in 2017, Charbel completed internships with public relations agency Fifty Acres, and the Department of Communications and the Arts.

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