DFS floats £40m below target for stock market debut
FURNITURE retailer DFS has priced its float towards the lower end of its marketed range as its makes its debut on the stock market this morning with a valuation of £543.2m.
DFS has set the price of its initial public offering at 255p per share, having last month given a target range of 245p-310p.
The offer comprises 80.9 million shares equating to £206.4m and representing 38% of DFS’s share capital on admission.
The mid-point of the original price guidance indicated the company would float with a £585m market capitalisation, lower than previous suggestions that the Doncaster firm could achieve a £1bn valuation.
DFS is raising proceeds of £98m to reduce its financial borrowings and provide access to a lower cost of financing.
Richard Baker, chairman of DFS, said: “I am extremely proud of what has been achieved at DFS since 2010 and excited about what is to come as a public company.
“On behalf of the board, I would like to thank all the employees of DFS for their continued hard work as we now look to build on our success for our new shareholders.”
Ian Filby, CEO, added: “I am delighted by the positive response to the offering and would like to welcome all our new shareholders to DFS.
“We are committed to our vision to take DFS from being a great British business to a world class business. We have a clear strategy to broaden our appeal, enhance our service and make our products more accessible to our customers than ever before through a measured programme of store expansion, continued development of our multichannel proposition and constant enhancement of our product range. We look forward to further building on our excellent track record of sales, market share growth and cash generation, as the UK’s leading retailer of upholstered furniture.”
