AA speeds up plans for a £4bn London float despite Saga flop
BRITAIN’S biggest car insurer and roadside recovery firm, the AA, is reportedly set to push on with plans for float that will value the company at around £4bn.
The listing will be part of a process known as an accelerated initial public offering by parent company Acromas, which could be announced today according to Sky News. The move comes despite the disappointing debut of sister company Saga, also majority owned by Acromas, which has seen its share price fall more than five per cent since its 185p float.
A group of 10 City institutional investors have been brought together by Cenkos, the mid-tier broker and investment house, to support the float.
Cenkos could earn as much as £23m from the deal, a bumper payday for the firm which would dwarf the £12m fee earned by Rothschild on the flotation of AO World. Earlier this year, Cenkos reported a 50 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £10.7m.
A successfully floated AA is said to be likely to gain admission to the FTSE 250.
Last week the managing director of More Than, Janet Connor, announced she would leave and take up the same position at AA Insurance in August. Connor, who has been MD at More Than since 2012, will report direct to Chris Jansen, chief executive of the AA.