Visma, one of Europe’s largest software companies, has approached former Worldpay boss Sir Ron Kalifa to become its chair if it proceeds with a €20bn (£17.6bn) listing in London next spring, the Guardian understands. Kalifa, a director of the Bank of England, is considered the leading candidate after recent interviews.
However, sources caution that London is not guaranteed to secure the listing, with Stockholm emerging as a rival venue. Visma is better known in Scandinavian markets, and the Swedish bourse recently hosted the successful €13.7bn IPO of Verisure, whose shares rose 25% on debut.
An offer to Kalifa may depend on London being chosen. The company is holding “early look” meetings with fund managers to gauge demand and preferences on listing venue and governance, advised by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS.
London was reported in the summer to have beaten Amsterdam for the listing, which would be the largest in London for years. A loss to Stockholm would be a heavy blow. “There are different routes this could go down and nothing is yet decided,” said a source.
Kalifa, who led Worldpay through rapid growth and later wrote a 2021 government report on boosting UK fintech, would see a London listing as a personal win. Visma, which provides accounting and HR software to 2.2 million customers, sees AI as critical to its future.
