Cobra issues shares to pay network members

Broking group Cobra has issued £13,762-worth of new shares to compensate members of its broker network.

Cobra issued 36,698 shares at 37.5p a share.

The shares were issued because some of the brokers in Cobra’s network were entitled to a profit share from business written in 2010, and certain of them opted to have this paid in shares rather than cash.

Their choice of shares over cash could be seen as a vote of confidence in Cobra’s future performance.

Following the new issue, Cobra has 36.4 million shares in issue.

A £1.5m goodwill charge related to the sale of its Caterham and Alton units pushed Cobra into a £1.9m loss for the year ended 31 March 2011.

However, the sale of the units, plus the sale of Cobra Corporate Solutions, will help the broker trim its debt. It aims to be debt-free in five years.