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Esken has raised £55m following its latest equity raise in which placed shares were priced at 14p each, it announced on Wednesday.

The aviation and energy infrastructure firm - previously known as Stobart Group - also revealed on Tuesday that it had signed a new £20m revolving credit facility with Lloyds Bank and AIB Group.

Announcing reasons for the capital raise, Carlisle-based Esken said various factors had accelerated the need for refinancing and that additional liquidity was required to build a "strong foundation" from which it can return to growth.

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The firm said the impact of the pandemic had been "significant" and the actions taken to respond to these challenges and to ensure sufficient resources to manage through the crisis "has allowed Esken to maintain the operational capability of our core operations".

The firm said despite that, the ramifications of the pandemic "are likely to continue for some period of time".

After the completion of the book building process, David Shearer, executive chairman, said: "We are delighted to have received support from both our existing shareholders and new investors for this equity raise.