By Simon Jessop
LONDON - British mid and small-cap investment bank Peel Hunt said on Tuesday it plans to list on London's AIM market to raise money to expand its operations and technology as well as bolstering its capital position.
The company expects to be valued at between 270 million and 300 million pounds ($373.57 million-$415.08 million) after a placing of ordinary shares according to a source familiar with the matter.
Alongside its intention to float, Peel Hunt updated on its current trading and said it had posted full-year 2021 revenues of 196.8 million pounds ($272.15 million), up from 95.5 million in the previous year.
"Having expanded significantly over the last ten years, Peel Hunt is now well established as a leading UK mid and small-cap focused investment bank," Chief Executive Steven Fine said in a statement.
"The IPO represents an important milestone in our journey and allows us to accelerate our growth plans, building on the strong momentum in our business."
Peel Hunt was founded in 1989 and bought by Belgium's KBC in 2001 but is now majority-owned by current and former employees after a staff buyout in 2010.
The broker said it had appointed the former global head of equity capital markets at UBS, Lucinda Riches, as a non-executive director with a view to her taking over as chairman from Simon Hayes who is due to step down next year.
At the end of August Peel Hunt said it had 157 corporate clients with an average market capitalisation of around 775 million pounds and distributed its equity research to more than 1,200 institutions.
The company is also a provider of trade execution services to UK retail platforms and brokers, and said in the year ended March 2021, 47% of all retail trade value in Britain was dealt on its trading platform.
($1 = 0.8470 euros)
($1 = 0.7231 pounds)
(Corrects second paragraph to show the company aims to be valued at 270-300 mln stg, and is not looking to raise that amount)
