Following months of speculation, British lifestyle brand Joules has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £140m, mandating investment bank Rothschild to act as advisor during the process.
“Joules has a rare heritage and a strong presence across clothing and lifestyle product categories,” said Chief Exec Colin Porter. “Since the brand‘s foundation more than 26 years ago, Joules has enjoyed strong, consistent growth developing into the much-loved fun, family, ‘time-off‘ lifestyle brand it is today.”
The fashion retailer said the initial public offering will take place in the second quarter of 2016 and it‘s expected that founder Tom Joule will take home £40m as he cuts his 80% stake to less than 50%. Private equity firm LDC will also offload its 20% stake as part of the listing.
Joule founded the chain in 1989 and today it trades from over 98 stores across the UK and Ireland with 12 new stores having opened yearly over the last three years. Revenues were at £116.4m last year, boosted by strong demand in Germany and North America.
The money raised will be used to boost store numbers in the UK and overseas.
“We have a clear strategy to develop the brand further and we see real potential for continued growth across channels both in our core UK market and internationally,” added Porter.
