Insider Media Limited

The Weather Lottery, based in Mattersey, has raised £100,000 through a placing to complete the £300,000 fundraising it announced earlier in the year.

The AIM-listed lottery operator said Cormac Crawford has subscribed for 17,466,666 ordinary shares, representing about 4.39 per cent of TWL's enlarged share capital. John Botros, Company secretary John Botros added to its shareholding through a subscription and will now hold approximately 5.36 per cent of the company.

TWL said Crawford has raised and managed "substantial funds" on his own and for clients primarily in the business expansion sector. After acquiring his stake in the company, TWL said it looks forward to working with him to develop the company.

Crawford is a former executive with Banque National de Paris where he was responsible for the construction finance at the World Financial Centre Battery Park New York. He then founded Shannon International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (SIL). After SIL was bought by GE Capital, Crawford established a boutique financial services company licensed by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Part of the money raised by TWL was used to settle £80,000 due to lottery winners amid allegations jackpot payments were misappropriated by former managing director Keith Milhench and Amie Pickersgill-Smith, another ex-employee.

The pair are due to be sentenced in October after pleading guilty to charges brought by Nottinghamshire Police. The charges related to the alleged misappropriation of jackpot payments to lottery winners between April 2008 and April 2010, when both Milhench and Pickersgill-Smith worked for the company.