The tinned tuna maker Princes Group has launched its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of nearly £1.2bn, providing a rare bright spot for the UK’s flagging market for flotations. Shares debuted at the bottom end of the £1.16bn to £1.24bn target range set last week and fell 1% in early trading.
The almost 150-year-old company, best known for Princes tinned tuna and Napolina tinned tomatoes, olive oil and pasta, is controlled by the Italian family company Newlat – rebranded as NewPrinces – but is based in Liverpool. It also owns Crisp ’n Dry cooking oil and sells Branston baked beans under licence. NewPrinces bought Princes from Japanese group Mitsubishi last year for £700m before expanding the group.
The group, which recently acquired Liverpool’s Royal Liver Building where its head office is based, is expected to raise £400m from the sale of new shares to fund expansion plans. Business secretary Peter Kyle called the IPO a ‘huge vote of confidence’ in the government’s capital markets reforms, while chief executive Simon Harrison highlighted the company’s ambition for future growth and expanding its international footprint.
The float follows a relative flurry of activity for the LSE after a drought last year. Small business lender Shawbrook Group listed at £1.92bn on Thursday, with shares rising 8% on its first day. Beauty Tech Group also floated earlier this month at about £300m. The payment app Revolut is reportedly considering a dual listing in New York and London, and Unilever is poised to demerge its ice-cream division with a triple listing.
