Shawbrook has confirmed its plans for a stock market listing in the latest sign of a resurgence in activity in London’s IPO market.
The Essex-based bank has today published its registration document ahead of its intention to apply to admit its shares to the main market of the London Stock Exchange in a move thought to value the company at as much as £2bn.
Shawbrook was previously London-listed before it was acquired by a consortium led by private equity firms BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital in July 2017.
The firm said it expects to have a free float of at least 10 per cent of its issued share capital and expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK indices.
Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Deutsche Bank have been signed on as joint bookrunners.#
“Shawbrook believes that an IPO would, if completed, position the Group well for the next stage of its evolution, supporting its ambitious growth plans,” the bank said in a statement.
“An IPO is expected to further enhance Shawbrook’s profile and brand recognition and help the Group continue retaining and incentivising key management and employees, as well as providing Shawbrook with access to a wider range of potential sources of capital.
“An IPO would, if completed, naturally also allow Shawbrook’s existing sole shareholder, Marlin Bidco Limited, to realise part of its investment in Shawbrook, after many years of success and investment under private ownership.”
Shawbrook said its medium-term target is to achieve loan book growth in the low double digits per annum, with an ambition to almost double the size of its total loan book to £30bn by 2030.
The bank has also pursued an aggressive M&A strategy in recent years, which has included failed attempts to acquire rivals Metro Bank and Co-op Bank in 2023. The firm successfully acquired specialist lender Bluestone Mortgages Limited in the same year.
“We have achieved real scale, and our current markets are large and growing, supported by attractive tailwinds,” said Shawbrook chief executive Marcelino Castrillo.
“We also see a significant opportunity to bring Shawbrook’s offering to new types of customers.”
The flotation plans mark the latest sign of a revival in London’s heretofore sluggish IPO market, which saw the stock exchange sink to as low as 23rd globally by funds raised by the end of the third quarter.
It follows successful listings last week by Texas-based energy developer Fermi, which also floated in New York, as well as Cheshire-based Beauty Tech Group, which on Friday priced its IPO at 271p a share, giving it a market value of around £300m.
