CPP debuts on London Stock Exchange

CREDIT card insurer CPP today began life on the London Stock Exchange with its shares opening at 235p, giving the Yorkshire group a market capitalisation of £396m.

The York-based company, which offers protection against lost wallets, mobile phones, keys and credit cards as well as identity theft, had earnings of £49.5m on revenue of £292m last year.

Analysts had expected the float, announced last month, to give CPP a market capitalisation of between £386m and £457m.

CPP said it expects to raise around £30m from the issue of new shares, while shareholders selling their stakes in the business expect to raise around £120m.

CPP will use cash raised to pay down part of its net debt, while the group believes the float will raise the profile of CPP, allow it to enter its next phase of growth and also gear it up towards making acquisitions.

Founder Hamish Ogston is to sell part of his stake in the business following the IPO but will still own around 62% of the company’s shares.

The group employs more than 1,000 staff in York and another 2,000 in 14 countries worldwide.

Mr Ogston, 61, will take some cash from the float to invest in his other business and charity interests, but will remain the majority shareholder.

CPP, which has customers including HSBC, RBS, Barclays and Santander, already operates in countries including India, Mexico and Turkey but plans to launch in China by the end of this year.

Eric Woolley, CPP’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to announce the pricing of the IPO. We have enjoyed being able to talk to the market about CPP’s growth story and are pleased with the response, as evidenced by the robust demand and new investors we have attracted.

“We look forward to life as a listed company which will help us to capitalise on the many growth opportunities available to us.”

Mr Ogston said: “The group is very pleased to make this announcement today as the IPO represents the logical next step in the development of CPP as it seeks to continue to build on its strong track record.

“Since I founded this business in 1980, we have demonstrated consistent revenue growth and developed what we believe to be one of the leading international providers of life assistance products.”