SPI Lasers, a designer and maker of fibre lasers, is looking to raise £12 million of new money on AIM for a debut market cap of between £30-£35 million.

To date, the business has been financed by venture capitalists including Amadeus Capital Partners, Advent Venture Partners and Interwest. Led by chief executive David Parker, SPI produces lasers for a wide variety of sectors and applications, addressing a large slug of a $2.3 billion global market.

According to the upbeat Parker, the group’s fibre lasers focus the laser light to a very small spot, boosting precision, and are swiftly becoming essential in the product production processes of its 'thirty-plus' customers. This is because fibre lasers offer a better performance at substantially reduced total costs to their rivals, due to their faster processing, increased yields, lower maintenance needs and healthier energy efficiency. ‘Traditional lasers tend to be large with high maintenance requirements', explains Parker. 'Ours is a smaller, better laser, with superior optical parameters, and a lower cost of ownership, since it is maintenance free’, he surmises.

Today, SPI Lasers’ products address about 50 per cent of the $1.5 billion ‘material manufacturing segment’ of that $2.3 billion laser market. The float funds will help Parker expand into new markets, and also widen the product portfolio. Long-term, as miniaturisation gains pace, and potential customers realise the efficiency and cost savings involved, the potential for selling fibre lasers into manufacturing will grow. Readers can expect flotation in late October. Panmure Gordon is broker and nomad to the float. Watch this space.