Applied Nutrition to be valued at up to £400m on stock market admission

Liverpool sports nutrition brand, Applied Nutrition, will be valued at between £340m-£400m on its proposed admission to the stock market, it announced today (October 15).

Applied Nutrition products are available globally in more than 65 countries and in well known UK retailers such as Holland & Barrett, ASDA, Tesco, and Superdrug.

It confirmed its intention to float earlier this month, and today revealed the price range for its initial public offering.

It has set a range for the offer at 136 to 160 pence per share, implying an estimated market capitalisation at admission of between approximately £340m and £400m.

The offer comprises up to 137,408,477 existing shares to be sold by certain existing shareholders of the company.

Making the announcement today, the company said it is “very pleased” to have the support of four prominent and highly successful North West entrepreneurs, including EG Group co-founder, Mohsin Issa, who have committed to participate in the offer to an aggregate value of £25m pursuant to cornerstone investment agreements.

Directors said they believe the offer and admission will support the group’s growth plans by increasing its public profile and brand awareness, further improve its ability to attract and retain high quality talent, and create a liquid market in the shares.

The offer will include an intermediaries offer, using Retail Book for distribution to retail investors in the UK. This is expected to open following publication of the prospectus, expected to be later today, and have a minimum application size of £250.

Individuals must apply in the RetailBook Intermediaries Offer through participating intermediaries.

The latest time and date for receipt of applications by intermediaries is 10am on October 23, 2024.

Participating intermediaries are AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor.

It is currently expected that admission will occur this month.

The company has engaged Numis Securities, trading as Deutsche Numis, as the sole sponsor, sole global co-ordinator and sole bookrunner.

The float is expected to provide a windfall for Bury-based JD Sports, which in 2021 acquired 32% of the share capital of Applied Nutrition from Thomas Ryder, as a strategic initiative alongside its JD Gyms business.

Peter Cowgill, former CEO of JD, also holds a small personal stake in Applied Nutrition.

Andy Bell, founder of Manchester investment platform AJ Bell, and the non-executive Chair of Applied Nutrition, said last week: “A float on the London Stock Exchange would mark the next step in Applied Nutrition’s journey to becoming the world’s most trusted and innovative sports nutrition, health & wellness brand.

“The company has delivered impressive growth to date, driven by the increasing consumer interest in health and wellness, and the consistent delivery of new products to Applied Nutrition’s global customer base.

“We are excited at the prospect of widening our shareholder base and we are confident that a London listing would further enhance our brand awareness and provide a platform for continued growth.”

An 80 person Manchester team led by corporate partner and the Head of AG’s Manchester office Roger Hart and includes Jamie Partridge, Adam Hastings, David Auty, Rebecca Mackellar, Paul Keohane, Phoebe Liang, Melissa Chaplow, Callum Campbell, Nelema Akhtar and Luca Batra.

Roger Hart said: “It’s been a pleasure to work on this high profile IPO. The AG team that worked on it is almost entirely based in our Manchester office, which I think shows the market-leading strength of this office and that we’re ready for the return of IPO activity to the UK, hopefully in the near term.”