// MusicMagpie announces plans for a £208m stock market flotation on London’s AIM
// The IPO is forecast to raise £95m for selling shareholders
// MusicMagpie directors & senior management will own 11.5% of the business after the IPO
Online retailer MusicMagpie has unveiled plans for a £208 million stock market flotation.
The ecommerce platform, which specialises in selling second hand tech such as smartphones and games consoles, will list on the junior AIM market in London.
The IPO of MusicMagpie is forecast to raise £95 million for selling shareholders.
After the AIM listing, which will also raise £15 million to pay down debt and expand its smartphone rental business, MusicMagpie directors and senior management will own 11.5 per cent of the business.
The online retailer raked in £153 million worth of revenues and profits of £13.9 million in the year to the end of November.
Last year also saw MusicMagpie set up kiosks in Asda and Co-op stores to recycle old phones for cash. It also lists products it sells on eBay and Amazon Marketplace.
The firm generates 54 per cent of its revenues from the resale of consumer technology, 38 per cent from “disc media” such as CDs, and seven per cent from books.
MusicMagpie was founded in Stockport in 2007 and also has operations in the US under the Decluttr brand.
“We are thrilled that MusicMagpie’s circular economy model has resonated so strongly with investors,” co-founder Steve Oliver said.
“Given the ongoing move to tackle the growing problem of e-waste and the fact that consumer attitudes towards buying refurbished consumer technology products are rapidly changing, we believe there is significant potential for MusicMagpie’s future growth prospects.”
He added: “In the UK alone, we estimate that people are sitting on around £16.5 billion worth of technology that they no longer use.
“Only a small percentage of consumer technology items are currently recycled. The listing on AIM reflects not only the success that we have enjoyed to date but also our confidence in our ability to capitalise on the favourable long-term trends that continue to drive the company’s strong performance.”
MusicMagpie joins a string of UK-based online retailers turning to the stock market in recent months and on the back of a surge in online shopping due to the pandemic.
These include Moonpig, The Hut Group, MyTheresa, Made.com and InTheStyle.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
