New Aim floater Van Elle holds Elite status for London Stock Exchange Group
The London Stock Exchange no doubt treasures all of its newly floating companies. But the successful listing of Van Elle on the junior market today held particular significance.
The Nottingham-based geotechnical, piling and foundation company is the first UK member of the London Stock Exchange Group’s international business support programme, Elite, to have gone public.
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Van Elle was founded in 1984 by chairman Michael Ellis and his wife, Joan, who back then drove the company’s truck.
Today, the company has 500 employees and, after raising £40m through its Alternative Investment Market (Aim) float, has a value of £80m.
Elite provided the firm with practical advice on how to access different sources of finance – venture capital, private or public equity – to help businesses grow and create employment opportunities.
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“This is an important IPO, not just for Van Elle, but for growing businesses across the UK,” said Umerah Akram, head of Elite UK.
“It demonstrates the ability of Elite to truly unleash the potential of ambitious dynamic companies by giving them access to finance and financial knowledge.
“Today also shows that investors are looking beyond macro-issues and taking the time to understand individual company growth stories.”