UK’s Tortilla Mexican food chain valued at £70m as it prices shares ahead of IPO
Mexican fast food chain Tortilla has been valued at £70m after pricing its shares in the region of expectations ahead of its debut on London’s Aim market.
Tortilla priced its shares at 181 pence per share, less than a week after it announced its intention to float on the London stock exchange.
The restaurant brand said the placing was “comfortably over-subscribed by high quality institutional investors”, and it expects the listing to raise £23m for selling shareholders, and £5m from the placing of new shares.
It expects admission will take place next Friday, 8 October, under the aptly named ticker MEX.
The company said it would use the proceeds from the listing to accelerate its growth plans, which include targeting around 45 new sites over the next five years, including building on the success of the existing portfolio of delivery-only ‘cloud-kitchens’.
On announcing the company’s intention to float, directors said the group was strongly positioned to capitalise on opportunities arising from the pandemic, such as an increased number of vacant units with more affordable rent.
Richard Morris, Tortilla’s chief executive officer, called the intention to float “an incredibly exciting milestone in our continued growth journey.”
“We believe that this IPO unlocks our ability to consolidate on this momentum and enables us capitalise on significant long-term growth opportunities in the post-Covid-19 pandemic landscape,” he said.