30 per cent of shares to be offered
Dunelm, the 82-store homewares group, intends to float on the London Stock Exchange's main market at the end of next month.

Approximately 30 per cent of shares in the company, which generated an operating profit of£38.1 million last year on sales of£315.2 million, will be offered to external investors via a secondary placing.

Dunelm claims to be one of the UK's top 10 homewares groups. Operating primarily from out-of-town superstores in the Midlands and Northwest, the value retailer sells lines such as bedding, kitchenware and curtains.

Dunelm chief executive Will Adderley said: 'Dunelm has been growing rapidly for several years now. The proposed IPO represents the logical next step in the company's development. It will significantly raise Dunelm's profile and help support the next stage of our growth.'

In the last financial year, Dunelm suffered a like-for-like sales decline, but has recorded comparable store sales growth of 4.7 per cent for the 11 weeks to September 16.

Dunelm was founded in 1979 by Bill and Jean Adderley, who started on a market stall in Leicester. Will Adderley, the founders' son, became chief executive in 1996.

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