Northern IPOs dominate Stock Exchange

THE combined value of six Northern company IPOs contributed to 60% of the total funds raised on the London Stock Exchange’s main and AIM markets in the first three months of 2015, according to EY’s latest IPO Eye report.

The listing of Manchester-headquartered Auto Trader, which raised £1.36bn, was the largest of the period and made up the lion’s share of the £1.61bn generated by companies based in the North in the first quarter.

This was a marginal 2% increase on the corresponding period last year, when five flotations – including B&M Bargains – raised a total of £1.58bn.

There were 16 listings in total (excluding investment vehicles) across the main and AIM markets in Q1 2015, raising cumulative funds of £2.67bn, down 55% on the £5.98bn generated during Q1 2014. This decline was a result of falling AIM activity and a decline in main market values.

The North’s share of the total value raised by flotations on the London markets grew from 26% in the first three months of 2014 to 60% in Q1 2015.

On the main market, there were 10 IPOs over the first three months of 2015 – up from seven in Q1 2014 (£4.74bn) – raising £2.62bn.

Four of these 10 were Northern firms, comprising Auto Trader, Sunderland-based SCS Group, Doncaster-headquartered DFS Furniture and Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group.

Meanwhile, Northern businesses Premier Technical Services Group (Castleford) and Redx Pharma (Merseyside) collectively raised £23m, contributing almost half of the £48m of funds raised across six IPOs on AIM in Q1 of this year. In Q1 2014, there were 16 AIM admissions in total, raising £1.24bn.

Richard Harding, partner and North West IPO leader at EY, said: “In what is traditionally a quiet period for IPOs, the first three months of this year benefited from a high number of businesses keen to float on the main market before the general election in May.

“That said, volumes of admissions to AIM declined significantly and the total value raised across both markets fell compared to last year.

“Listings for a range of Northern businesses illustrate the operational discipline, growth track records and strong overall propositions of corporates based across the North West, Yorkshire and the North East.