Funmail flotation to raise £5m for projects

The flotation will raise around £5m for a "number of different projects" according to Dominic Morley, associate director of WestLB Panmure, the company handling the Funmail float.

Currently Funmail has around 45,000 users, with more than 1,000 new subscribers per day. The service, which launched in November, allows users to choose email addresses from a selection of 3,500, summing up a variety of emotions, moods and occasions. Users can choose up to 20 addresses per mailbox. Funmail's current revenue comes through advertising and direct marketing "much the same as Freeserve," according to Morley.

Dixon's Freeserve, which finally announced its intended floatation last week, is facing fresh competition from Sun newspaper ISP CurrantBun. CurrentBun, which launched three months ago, has teamed up with rival electrical retailer Comet to offer subscribers access to Comet's Web site and e-commerce offerings.