New Look to raise £650m for stockmarket float
Fast fashion house New Look released plans for its long-awaited stockmarket flotation today, saying it would raise £650 million from new investors to pay down debts.
The float, delayed in 2007 as the City panicked about the credit crunch, should go ahead next month assuming a road show to potential shareholders is a success.
The group was taken private in 2004 for £699 million by founder Tom Singh and private equity firms Permira and Apax, both of which have a 28 per cent stake.
The proceeds from the float would slash the company's £1 billion debt pile and cut the £100 million a year interest bill. The chief executive, Carl McPhail, says the strategy of "bricks and clicks" — the internet site is third in the market after Next and Asos — will attract more custom. New Look has 1,010 stores, including 601 in the UK, but plans to open more including a flagship Oxford Street shop in a few days.
The City is viewing New Look as a test case for a string of potential retail flotations, which could include fashion company Matalan, Merlin Entertainment and grocer Ocado.
