Equiniti Group set for £390m London float

Investor services firm Equiniti Group confirmed its plans to float on the stock market today.

Equiniti, which provides share registration and investor services, said it planned to raise £390m through the float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

The company intends to use proceeds from the IPO to reduce debt, which currently stands at £440m, and pursue potential acquisitions. However it did not say how much of the company it planned to float. 

"The IPO will enable Equiniti’s management team to continue its proven growth strategy, while benefiting from a growing market and favourable trends towards outsourcing, greater regulation and digitalisation," Guy Wakeley, chief executive of Equiniti, said.

Read more: Worldpay confirms intention to float on the London Stock Exchange

He added that the float would allow the company to benefit from "favourable trends towards outsourcing, greater regulation and digitalisation".

Wakeley told Morning Wire "Much of the reason [for the timing] is that there's been a real increase in people taking ownership of their pensions. The business is in great shape and we had a lot of interest from potential purchasers so now felt like the right time to float.

"Moreover, as banking regulation gets tougher there's a real requirement for banks to outsource their technologies. Banks are struggling with outdated, legacy technologies. This has created a gap that means our business is currently in great shape."
 
One of the largest providers of share registration services, Equiniti Group also has market leading positions in the administration of employee share plans and pensions. The group counts around 70 FTSE 100 companies as customers and since 2012 has been growing at around 10 per cent a year. 

Equiniti reported £82m earnings in the year to the end of June 2015, on revenue of £350m. The company targets a net debt of about 3.25 times its 2015 earnings by the end of the year. 

It is the latest outsourcer to float in London, joining peers Capita Group, Outsourcery and Serco. 

Today's news comes after Advent, the private equity group with an 85 per cent stake in Equiniti, confirmed plans to raise £890m through a London float of payments group, Worldpay.