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Broker Peel Hunt Rises in London Debut After $154 Million IPO

Broker Peel Hunt Rises in London Debut After $154 Million IPO

Peel Hunt rose 2.4% as it started trading in London after a two-decade hiatus, as the U.K. broker’s own business benefits from a wave of London listings.

The company and its holders raised 112 million pounds ($154 million) in a placing ahead of the listing, cashing in on months of bustling activity, with clients turning to the markets to raise cash amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Peel Hunt, which is returning to London’s Alternative Investment Market more than two decades after it was first floated, priced its offering at 228 pence per share, valuing the company at 280 million pounds, it said in a statement Friday. Its shares were trading at 233.50 pence as of 8:05 a.m. in London.

The firm -- named after its founders Charlie Peel and Chris Hunt -- raised 40 million pounds from the offering to set up an office in Europe, invest in technology and fund regulatory and working capital needs. The U.K.-focused company’s continental expansion comes in the wake of Brexit, with financial firms still awaiting equivalence from regulators. 

Selling shareholders raised 72 million pounds from the offering. The firm was briefly quoted on the AIM from February 2000 until Belgian financial group KBC Bank NV bought it at the end of that year. A decade later a consortium of staff and external investors carried out a buyout.

Peel Hunt, which was established in 1989, provides broking, advisory and trading house services for small- and medium-sized publicly traded companies. The firm, which had revenue of 197 million pounds in the 12 months to March, had 157 corporate clients at the end of August, with its research distributed to more than 1,200 institutions.

Stifel’s Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Peel Hunt are joint global coordinators on the offering. Grant Thornton is the nominated adviser, and Evercore Partners the financial adviser.

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