Investment platform mulls stock market flotation which could bring £2bn valuation

A Manchester-based online investment platform is preparing for a London Stock Exchange flotation that could value it at up to £2bn.

Interactive Investor (II) is the UK’s number one flat fee investment platform with around £55bn of assets under administration, and the UK’s second largest direct to consumer (D2C) investment platform.

It is understood to be considering which investment bankers to appoint to enable an initial public offering (IPO), according to Sky News.

A decision on a flotation will depend on market conditions, however, earlier this year it appointed Gordon Wilson, a former Travelport executive, as non-executive chairman as part of its planning for an IPO.

II boasts more than 400,000 customers and is second only to Hargreaves Lansdown in the UK market.

The popularity for investment platforms has grown among small, retail investors, moreso following the pandemic.

In a trading update last month, AJ Bell, another Manchester-based investment platform, revealed in a trading update for the third quarter to June 30, that total customer numbers increased to 368,033, up 30% over the past year and six per cent in the quarter, with total net inflows in the quarter of £1.8bn, compared with £1.2bn in 2020.

Total assets under administration increased to £70.4bn, up 30% over the past year and eight per cent in the quarter.

II operates a flat-fee subscription model, and in its results for the six months to the end of June, said net revenue had risen by 19% to £76.1m, with more than 30,000 new clients added during the half year period.

Richard Wilson, II chief executive, is a keen advocate of floating on the stock exchange.