( ) is to seal its £14mln fundraise after the completion of due diligence and the signing of an investment agreement.

An institutional funding deal was struck in April with Continental Investment Partners and its affiliates. Its sees a debt-to-equity split of 50%.

Metano Capital, a subsidiary of Continental is subscribing for £7mln worth of new shares, priced at 8p – it will subsequently own 87.5mln shares, or 21.07%. ‘Lock in’ restrictions are in place, 12 months for half of the new shares, and 18 months for the remainder.

The investor put in £1.5mln back in April via a 3 year loan, and it will also now subscribe for an additional £5.5mln of loan notes.

Marco Fumagalli, Continental’s managing partner, will join the board as a non executive director.

"The introduction of a cornerstone institutional investor is a strategic milestone for , funding the drill programme, institutionalizing the register and providing new relationships across the region,” said James Parsons, Sound’s chief executive.

“The company will now focus on completing the recently announced farm down of the Nervesa discovery, preparing for the drilling of the Badile prospect (including securing a farm down) and delivering growth beyond Italy."

Separately, director Simon Davies will convert an existing £1mln loan into a new loan, on the same terms as the Continental debt.