The boss of Beauty Tech Group has said he hopes its London debut will ‘inspire other businesses’ amid an exodus of listings to New York. Shares in the company, which is behind beauty gadgets said to be used by celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams, traded above their offer price this morning.
In a shot in the arm for the City, the Cheshire-based firm opened at 279.1 pence, 3 per cent higher than its offering price of 271 pence. Laurence Newman, founder and chief executive of Beauty Tech Group, described his firm’s IPO as a ‘pivotal moment’ for the stock market. The group, which owns brands including CurrentBody, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser, was valued at £300million.
Fears over a flight of UK-listed companies to New York were this week stoked when pharma giant AstraZeneca announced its decision to list its shares directly on Wall Street. And a dearth of new listings to replace those leaving has triggered worries that London is on the precipice of losing its status as a global centre for equities. Figures this week suggested the City had fallen below Mexico and Singapore in the world rankings for initial public offering fundraising this year.
But Beauty Tech Group’s Newman suggested there was evidence of a change in mood music. ‘There’s lots of things to be cheerful about in terms of a company like ours coming to the London stock market, and hopefully it’ll inspire other businesses to do something similar,’ he said. He added: ‘I’m already sensing from the people I’ve met over the last 12 months – there’s a real desire to see this type of business come to the market.
‘It feels like a little undercurrent of positivity and movement from other companies towards a potential listing.’ Although Newman admitted businesses were facing ‘tough times’ amid high inflation and more red tape, he said beauty was a resilient industry as ‘people always want to feel better’. He said he would ask the Chancellor to offer more support to founder-led businesses to ‘get them listing’.
‘This is a complex, difficult, costly process to go down, and it shouldn’t be. It should be something that we make…a genuinely good route for companies to look at in order to boost the economy.’ Beauty Tech Group boosted sales by 27 per cent to £55.2million in the first half of this year. The listing is another jolt of good news after food manufacturer Princes Group confirmed plans for a London IPO while lender Shawbrook is also anticipated to file for a flotation soon.
And this week US data centre group Fermi made its debut as part of a dual listing with New York’s Nasdaq. David Mortlock, managing partner at Berenberg, which acted as a bookrunner and financial adviser for both Beauty Tech and Fermi, said: ‘The Beauty Tech Group’s £100mn Main Market IPO listing this morning shows that the UK market is open for business. Having now supported three companies to float in London this year – and working with others planning to do the same – it’s clear the doom-mongering about London is overdone.’
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