EBTM, short for Everything But The Music, has taken advantage of its breakthrough into maiden profits last year by raising £675,000 this week through a placing at 3½p a share. Richard Breeden, chief executive of the Aim-listed online fashion retailer, said the new funds would "underpin our strategy of strong growth". Last month, the company announced pre-tax profits of £1m before interest, taxation and amortisation for the 12 months to April 30, "a transformational year" as described by Breedon. Sales jumped from £1.4m to £6.8m, driven by two acquisitions made in May and July last year. Sales at the core online retail business rose 37 per cent, but accounted for only 27 per cent of the total. The rest derived from Lowlife, an online retailer acquired for £4.75m, where sales have risen 46 per cent since the deal. The other purchase was the Atticus clothing brand as part of the strategy to create a vertically-integrated retail operation.