IPO

Continued strong fundraising activity on AIM

Allenby Capital, whose CEO Nick Naylor spoke at ShareSoc's Investing Masterclass on Remuneration, have just issued their quarterly update which shows the way the AIM market continues to help companies requiring capital. AIM is playing an important role in these difficult Covid times, writes ShareSoc Director Cliff Weight. Key points in the report: AIM continued its strong fundraising performance in Q3 2020. By the end of September, the total funds raised year to date of £4,085m had already surpassed the £3,997m raised ...

AJ Bell and FinnCap IPOs

Here are some comments on the IPOs of AJ Bell and FinnCap which are open to private investors ̶ the former to any of their clients who wish to put in £1,000 or more. The latter can be purchased from the PrimaryBid platform. Bearing in mind that I have previously said that you should never invest in IPOs (see my comment on Aston Martin which was certainly right as the shares are now down over 20% since IPO here: https://www.sharesoc.org/blog/company-news/the-market-dunedin-and-standard-life-smaller-companies-merger-and-aston-martin-ipo/ ), these ...

IPOs – Worldpay, Equiniti and McCarthy & Stone

The writer has been wading through the 300 odd pages of the prospectuses for Worldpay (already listed), and Equiniti (due to list on the 30th October). The latter will be available to retail investors via certain stockbrokers if you fancy a punt, although you'll be taking the price that institutional investors decide to pay. In addition McCarthy & Stone are lining up to float. I have already written a rather long article for the next ShareSoc Informer newsletter on these three companies ...

DFS Furniture IPO – Should you invest?

DFS Furniture have announced an IPO which will be available to retail investors - as long as you are happy to "take" the price the institutions are willing to pay. Anyone considering investing in the shares might like to note the comments below, but you are of course advised to read the full prospectus and/or take professional advice on the matter if necessary. This writer is well qualified to write on this subject because I used to hold DFS shares the last ...

Should you buy shares in Saga?

Here are some quick comments on the Saga IPO from skimming the prospectus before all the media do their in-depth analysis of what will no doubt be examined as a possible punt by both the millions of Saga customers and stock market speculators. Saga customers are favoured slightly in that they get one free share for every 20 purchased if they hold them for a year - hardly enough I suggest to sway my decision being one of their customers. But ...

Pets at Home -one for pet lovers?

Pets at Home Group is one of the few upcoming IPOs that will be open to retail investors. A "pre-announcement" that gives some details of the float has already been issued. Financial information so far supplied is not detailed but revenue was £598 last year from 369 retail stores and 246 small animal veterinary surgeries. The retail stores often include in-store grooming salons (for pets of course, not their owners). The business is currently owned by KKR and they seemed to have ...

Royal Mail IPO – the wrong kind of encouragement

There was a very intelligent letter in the FT today from a Dr Alex May. To quote: “I fear the sale will distort public perception of investing in shares”. It went on to suggest that it would mislead people into believing that making money in shares was easy, and implied it would encourage speculation rather than sound investment in a portfolio of shares. Even more astonishing was the revelation on the front page that some investment banks valued it at nearer the ...