By Charlie Conchie and Yadarisa Shabong
(Reuters) -Shares in Beauty Tech Group rose as much as 6.6% in its London market debut on Friday, giving the British company a market capitalisation of about 320 million pounds ($430 million) and offering encouraging signs for the struggling UK IPO market.
The initial public offering was priced at 271 pence per share earlier on Friday. By 1212 GMT, the shares were trading as high as 289 pence.
Founder and CEO Laurence Newman said listing during a quiet period for the market had helped boost Beauty Tech Group’s profile, and he hoped more firms would now follow in its wake.
“It’s given us great recognition, and this is an embryonic industry, so that’s helpful,” he told Reuters. “I’m hoping that there will be several that follow. My sense is, (from) people I’ve spoken to and people who’ve contacted me, there’s a lot of people wanting to do this, but they’re waiting for someone to go. And I’m hoping that today will be quite a pivotal moment in that respect.”
London’s IPO market has had a slow start this year and seen a raft of companies seeking listings abroad despite regulatory reforms aimed to attract companies.
However, there are signs of a potential pick-up as Prices Group, the maker of canned tuna and Napolina Pasta, said on Friday it was planning a London listing, and British bank Shawbrook is considering filing for an IPO in the coming days, according to sources.
“That’s an encouraging start, particularly for a smaller company given the lower end of the market cap spectrum has been out of favour with investors for some time,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, of Beauty Tech Group’s debut.
The company makes and sells at-home beauty devices using lights and lasers. It said the IPO comprised 10.7 million new shares to raise 29 million pounds, and 28.6 million shares sold by existing shareholders.
That implied a total offer size of 106.5 million pounds, the company said, about 35.5% of its issued share capital.
($1 = 0.7439 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Charlie Conchie in London. Editing by Susan Fenton and Mark Potter)
