Two more firms to list as London market booms
TWO START-UPS floating on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) next month will further boost the London market’s reputation as a popular place for new firms to list.
So far 61 companies have floated on the UK’s exchanges in 2013, compared to just 53 throughout 2012.
Education group Caredus and on-demand online video firm SyQic will add to that number when they both float their shares on London’s Alternative Investment Market next month.
SyQic – which is seeking a market capitalisation of around £14.4m on its admission – is UK-based and operates in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, delivering video content to mobile devices. The company had a reported profit of £625,000 on revenue of £3.9m last year.
“SyQic is operating in a fast growth market and the company is at a pivotal stage in its development,” said chief executive Jamal Hassim.
Caredus – a merger between education provider EYS Group and Progress to Excellence – is looking to raise £5m at its float to help finance the restructuring of the group’s balance sheet in order to help it bid for further public sector contracts. EYS and Progress to Excellence had combined profits of £1.5 on revenues of £14.3m last year.
The company offers services including vocational qualifications together with basic literacy, numeracy and ICT courses to children and adults for central and local government.
“We believe that given the fundamentals of the business, our leading approach, and increasing demand for alternative education, now is the right time to IPO. The funds raised and increased profile will assist Caredus to become a leader in the training and education market,” said chief executive Richard Atkinson.
Caredus is hoping for a market valuation between £13.5m and £16m when it floats in December.
ADVISERS
ALLENBY CAPITAL LIMITED
ALLENBY Capital Limited is acting as nominated adviser and sole broker for SyQic’s initial public offering (IPO). Allenby provides corporate finance and broking services to smaller companies, generally seeking to list on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim). It has previously worked on similar sales including a £1m fundraising IPO for Rapidcloud International in August where Allenby worked as nominated advisor and broker, and a £6.1m IPO for Myanmar Investments where Allenby worked as joint broker. Daniel Stewart is a global investment bank offering both corporate advisory and institutional stockbroking services on both the main market and Aim. The firm has been making headlines recently after it reported losses of £1.74m in 2013 and the company’s auditors said the finances, “indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”. It previously worked as joint broker on Plethora Solutions’ Aim IPO, raising £4.4m in October.