Aquarium operator Deep-Sea Leisure has raised £3.9m in a bid to reverse its recent bad run. The open offer and placing of 12.9m shares at 30p each was not underwritten but it attracted more support than expected and surpassed the original £3.5m maximum figure. This is uplifting news for the beleaguered play, which recently suffered cost overruns at its Blue Planet site in Cheshire, prompting a degree of over-gearing and forcing one of the founders and managing director Phil Crane to resign in December. The £3.9m raised is earmarked to repay some of these debts, particularly a £2m bridging loan from Bank of Scotland. Chairman Alastair Ritchie believes the money will return the group to 'normal trading' and his optimism was shared by investors, as its shares rose 7p on the back of this news.