Trainline IPO: Rail app seeks to raise £75m from June float
Trainline hopes to raise at least £75m when it floats on the London Stock Exchange next month, it said today.
Read more: Trainline confirms intention to float in London IPO
The ticket-booking app expects to launch its initial public offering (IPO) next month, when it is confident of raising enough capital for a listing on the FTSE’s main market.
Previous reports suggest the company is seeking a £1.5bn valuation on its stock market debut.
Trainline will launch at least 25 per cent of its issued share capital when it floats, netting it £75m, as well as the possibility of releasing privately-held shares.
“It’s a very natural next step for the business and an IPO would be helpful for us in attracting and retaining great talent,” chief executive Clare Gilmartin told Morning Wire last week.
JP Morgan Cazenove and Morgan Stanley are leading on Trainline’s IPO, which Gilmartin has compared to previous floats of Just Eat, Autotrader and Rightmove.
Just Eat’s IPO valued it at £1.5bn in 2014, while Autotrader saw a valuation of £1.4bn a year later.
Rightmove scored a £500m valuation shortly after its debut in 2006.
Trainline is yet to release a share price range but it is currently undertaking a book-building process.
The app company earned £53m before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in its latest financial year.
It grew profit 62 per cent from £90.8m in 2016 to £147.6m in 2019, with the UK contributing £112m of the latest figure.
Read more: Trainline mulls £1bn sale as IPO plans build up head of steam
Its owner, Victoria Investments, is now set to float the firm, which was bought for £500m by KKR in 2015.