14th Mar 2014 08:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in online fashion retailer Boohoo.com PLC started unconditional dealings Friday at a large premium to its offer price, after it became the fifth UK retailer to float on the London Stock Exchange so far this year.
The retailer raised GBP300 million via an initial public offering of 600 million shares with institutional and other investors at 50 pence per share, giving it a market capitalisation at the IPO price of GBP560 million.
Boohoo shares were trading at 78.50 pence in early trading Friday, 57% above its IPO price.
Earlier this week discount retailer Poundland PLC and pets products retailer Pets at Home Group PLC priced their initial public offerings, and commenced conditional dealings, following IPO's from newsagent and convenience store chain McColl's Retail Group PLC and online appliance retailer AO World PLC, earlier this year.
The list for upcoming flotations in the retail sector also continues to grow, with media having reported that a host of other retail businesses are set to float sometime this year, including discount retailer B&M, department store operator House of Fraser, phones retailer Phones4U, and fashion retailer Fat Face.
Boohoo.com, which competes with bigger rival ASOS PLC, is hoping to grow the business both in the UK and internationally and expand its distribution facilities with the help of the GBP300 million proceeds of the flotation, although it said approximately GBP240 million will be used to repay convertible loan notes held by its existing shareholders.
Boohoo.com, which exclusively sells own-branded men's and women's fashions to its core market of 16-24 year old consumers, said sales increased 70% to GBP91.9 million for the ten months to December 2013, 37% of which came from international sales.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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