Hot Tuna's warm glow with £1.5m share sale

Hot Tuna, the surf fashion company which counts High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens among its celebrity fans, today hailed the next stage in its turnaround after it raised £1.5 million through a share placing.

In a trading update on the six months to December, Hot Tuna said that a funding shortfall made it impossible for production to continue at the same level as the year before.

But chief executive Geoff O'Connell, who was lured in last summer to set up an £860,000 fundraiser, said the latest share placing would allow the business to expand.

Hot Tuna trimmed its half-year losses by a fifth to £543,000. It told shareholders that its pink piranha-branded clothes will now be sold online at big stores including ASOS and Amazon.

O'Connell said: "We are positive about the continued appeal of the brand internationally, for existing and new customers."