The Hut Group expresses plans of £920 million float on the London Stock Exchange

The Hut Group said on Thursday that it plans on going public after sixteen years of international operations. The company said its listing on the London Stock Exchange will be the biggest since 2013 of a UK-based company.

It will also be the first major listing in London after months of inactivity due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has so far infected more than 335 thousand people in the United Kingdom and caused over 41,500 deaths.  

The float will value THG at £4.5 billion

The Hut Group said that its £920 million listing will value the e-commerce company at £4.5 billion. As per the sources, it will list a minimum of 20% of its stock. The float will also include some of the Hut Group’s existing shares. In related news, the home and DIY retailer, Homebase partnered with the technology arm of the Hut Group on Wednesday for a tenure of ten years to overhaul its e-commerce operations.

Henderson Global Investors, Blackrock, and Qatar Investment Authority have already pledged a combined £565 million of investment to buy the company’s shares on offer. The float, as per the Hut Group, is expected by the end of September.

According to the British firm, revenue from digital sales climbed sharply in recent months as governments resorted to nationwide lockdowns to minimise the fast spread of the novel flu-like virus, and people switched to online shopping. The Hut Group operates a range of prominent retail brands like ESPA (skincare group) and Lookfantastic.

In the league of British companies, THG’s initial public offering (IPO) will be the biggest since the government floated Royal Mail’s shares in 2013. The global depositary receipts of international companies like EN + (Russian resource company) and China Pacific Insurance Co, however, raised more. \

NM Rothschild & Sons to serve as financial adviser

According to the Hut Group, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, CitiGroup, and Barclays will serve as joint global coordinators for its listing. For bookrunners, it has named Jefferies, HSBC, and Numis. NM Rothschild & Sons has taken over the role of the sole financial adviser of the Hut Group.

The Hut Group currently has a global workforce of 7,000 employees and has recently established its headquarters close to the Manchester airport in a £750 million facility. The retail veterans, as per the experts, including former heads of Debenhams, Tesco, and Matalan, could potentially cash in on the group’s listing.