Online retailer CMO eyes £100m AIM listing in bid to disrupt building materials market
Online-only building materials firm CMO is set to list on London’s AIM market next month, the company announced this morning.
Morning Wire understands that the Plymouth-headquartered outfit is likely to fetch a valuation of around £100m.
CMO will be looking to follow in the footprints of fellow home improvement retailers Victorian Plumbing, which listed on AIM in the junior market’s largest ever float earlier this week.
With DIY and construction activity have surged in the last year due to lockdown, CMO has seen strong sales growth in recent months.
It said that it had achieved sales growth for the five months to the end of May in excess of 30 per cent compared to the previous year and total sales growth including acquisitions in excess of 70 per cent over the same period.
The firm, which stocks more than 75,000 products across its different websites, says it is well-placed to disrupt a £27bn market which is yet to embrace digital sales.
At the moment, a mere four per cent of building materials sales takes place through online channels in the UK, of which CMO already accounts for a quarter.
Dean Murray, chief executive officer of CMO, said: “We are delighted to announce our intention to list on AIM signifying an exciting new chapter in the Group’s long-term development.
“We have enjoyed strong, consistent growth driven by the Group’s successful customer proposition, first mover advantage and scalable digital platform.
“Our clear and focussed strategy will enable us to continue to capture further profitable share in an under penetrated market as customers increasingly move online. We will support this through targeted category expansion and a multi-channel marketing plan to drive revenue growth and margin enhancement.”