Poundland confirms Stock Market flotation
Single price retailer Poundland has announced plans to float on the London Stock Exchange next month.
The company said the initial public offering will comprise a sale of shares held by private equity firm Warburg Pincus and those held by Poundland senior management. The shares will be offered to institutional investors. No new shares will be issued.
In connection with the IPO, Poundland has appointed Darren Shapland, Trevor Bond, Tea Colaianni and Grant Hearn as independent non-executive directors. The company said they all brought “significant experience” to the board.
Shapland has joined the board as senior independent director. He was chief executive of Carpetright before stepping down in late 2013 and prior to that spent six years at Sainsbury’s, initially as chief financial officer and subsequently as group development director.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Bond is president and chief customer officer at Mondelēz International and will chair Poundland’s audit committee while Colaianni is group HR director for Merlin Entertainments and will chair the remuneration committee. Hearn is the former chief executive of the Travelodge budget hotel chain and will chair Poundland’s governance and nominations committee.
Andy Higginson, chairman of Poundland, said: “That Poundland has attracted non-executive directors of their calibre is a testament to the strength of the business. Their combined experience and retail insight will be invaluable to the board. I believe we now have an excellent board to take the company into its next phase as a public company.”
Poundland has 500 stores in the UK and also operates 31 stores under the Dealz fascia in Ireland. The company has recently announced its intention to expand into Spain with the opening of up to 10 pilot Dealz stores over a two year period.
Poundland grew its revenue from £641.5 million in the year to 27 March 2011 to £880.5 million in 2013 while increasing its underlying EBITDA from £31.1 million to £45.5 million.
Commenting on the IPO, Poundland chief executive Jim McCarthy said: “The value retail sector has been through a period of profound change in scale, customer perception and financial performance. The sector is now a mainstream feature of the UK retail market and Poundland has been a central architect of that change.
“We have built a track record of delivering strong, profitable growth and I believe we have many more opportunities ahead, underpinned by our trusted brand, strong supplier relationships, differentiated value proposition and our well-invested and scalable infrastructure.”
