INDUSTRIAL holding company Fitzwilton, taking advantage of the current strength of its share price, has raised £6.75 million through a placing of 12.5 million new shares.

The shares - just under 5 per cent of Fitzwilton's existing equity - were placed at the market price of 54p and the funds will be used for "general corporate purposes".

In the past, Fitzwilton has had an uneasy relationship with Irish institutional investors, but sources close to the company have indicated three of the eight institutions involved in the placing are Irish, with the remainder from Britain. The market received the news of the placing well, and the shares closed up 2p on the day at 56p, despite the 5 per cent dilution that results from the placing.

The placing of the 12.5 million shares means that chairman Dr Tony O'Reilly's stake in the company fell from 15.3 per cent to 14.6 per cent, brother in law Mr Peter Goulandris's stake fell from 12.3 per cent to 11.7 per cent and the Dunnes Stores stake fell from 9.5 per cent to 9 per cent.

Most analysts believed the funds would be used to reduce Fitzwilton's debt - £110 million at the end of 1995.