31st Mar 2021 10:26
(Alliance News) - Shares in Parsley Box Group PLC declined 6.4% on their debut on London's AIM market on Wednesday, having raised GBP17 million in its initial public offering.
The Edinburgh-based company delivers ready meals to the 'baby boomer' generation, born after the World War Two and broadly defined as aged 60 and over. Its London Stock Exchange ticker code is MEAL.
Parsley Box shares were quoted at 187.25 pence on Wednesday morning, down from the IPO price of 200p.
However, Parsley Box was faring better than much-larger food delivery peer Deliveroo Holdings PLC, down 24% in conditional trading in London on Wednesday following its own IPO. Parsley Box had a GBP83.8 million market capitalisation at its IPO price, compared to GBP7.59 billion for Deliveroo.
Parsley Box said on Wednesday its fundraise was significantly oversubscribed and well supported by its own customers. The IPO raised GBP5 million for the company and GBP12 million for selling shareholders. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Dorren retains an 11.6% stake.
finnCap Ltd acted as the nomad and broker.
Parsley Box initially outlined plans to float earlier in March. Its ambient ready meals do not need to be stored in a fridge or freezer.
''From an idea cooked up at the kitchen table to IPO in just four years is an incredible achievement and we're proud to be celebrating this milestone together with our customers," Dorren said. "The business has grown rapidly, but for us it is just the beginning of our journey serving the Baby Boomer + demographic."
A series of venture capital trusts, existing investors in Parsley Box, noted Wednesday's first day of AIM dealings, saying the value of their holdings had increased.
Income & Growth VCT PLC booked net sale proceeds of GBP1.7 million and continues to hold 1.8 million shares, a 4.3% stake, valued at GBP3.6 million. Together, the partial realisation and higher value of retained shares represents a GBP2.3 million total increase in value. It said the uplift in net asset value from Parsley Box alone is 1.93 pence. Its NAV on December 31 was 79.17p.
Mobeus Income & Growth VCT PLC booked net sale proceeds of GBP1.6 million and its remaining holding of 4.0% is valued at GBP3.3 million. Together, this increases its December 31 NAV per share of 67.03p by 1.67p.
Mobeus Income & Growth 2 VCT PLC had net sale proceeds of GBP1.0 million and its remaining holding of 2.6% is worth GBP2.2 million. Together, this represents an uplift of 1.86p from NAV of 87.22p per share on December 31.
Finally, Mobeus Income & Growth 4 VCT PLC booked net sale proceeds of GBP1.3 million. Its remaining 3.1% stake is worth GBP2.6 million. Together, this represents an uplift of 1.96p from its end-2020 NAV of 81.50p per share.
The investors noted they already had benefited from their holdings in another recent London debutant, Virgin Wines UK PLC.
By Tom Waite; [email protected]
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Related Shares:
Mobeus I&gMIG.LMIG4.LInc&gwth VctVirgin WinesMEAL.LDeliveroo