McColl’s has this morning confirmed plans of its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.

Convenience store and newsagents group McColl’s announced today its intention to float. The news comes after Retail-week.com revealed in December that the retailer was mulling an IPO.

The 1,276-store retailer said in the announcement that the IPO is expected to complete by the end of February. The McColl’s IPO would be the first of 2014, as a raft of retailers, including Pets at Home, AO.com and B&M Bargains mull flotations this year.

McColl’s revealed it will issue new shares to raise £50m, which will be used to reduce some of the retailer’s debt. The IPO will also comprise a partial sale of the existing stake held by Cavendish Square Partners, which is being advised by Caird Capital.

McColl’s is also targeting 1,350 stores by the end of 2016.

Numis Securities is acting as sponsor, financial adviser and book-runner to the company and Livingstone Partners is acting as financial adviser.

The news comes after McColl’s Retail Group like-for-like sales rose 1.5% and total sales increased 2.6% in the six weeks to January 5, driven by its strong convenience offer and enhanced Christmas ranges.

The convenience sector is growing fast and McColl’s said it is forecast to grow from £35.6bn in 2013 to £46.2 billion in 2018, faster than the overall growth of the UK grocery market. The UK convenience market represents 21% of the total UK grocery market.

 

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