We've put together a package of capital support that strengthens Aterian both at the parent company and at our Rwandan trading subsidiary, Eastinco.

At the parent level, our CEO Simon Rollason has converted £150,000 of amounts owed to him into a convertible loan note, which will convert into ordinary shares at 25p each on or before 31 December 2026. This is deferred remuneration he chose to put back into the Company rather than take as cash, and it comes on top of a management team that has never sold a single Aterian share.

At Eastinco, a longstanding shareholder has committed to underwrite US$350,000 of an offering of up to US$500,000 in redeemable preference shares. These carry a 12% cumulative annual dividend, subject to solvency requirements, and a three-year redemption term. Because they're issued by Eastinco rather than Aterian, this preference capital doesn't dilute existing Aterian shareholders. The only dilution risk sits with 580,000 warrants given to the underwriter as an incentive, exercisable at 32.5p and expiring in February 2028.

The proceeds have already been used to repay, in full, the mezzanine debt that funded Eastinco's start-up phase. That facility cost around 20% a year, so replacing it with 12% preference capital meaningfully lowers the cost of funding the trading business and frees up more working capital for purchasing, processing and export volumes.