Trustpilot, Holders Seek up to $600 Million in London IPO

Trustpilot, Holders Seek as Much as $600 Million in London IPO

Swetha Gopinath

16 Mar 2021, 02:55 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Consumer-review site Trustpilot Group Plc’s London listing is set to raise as much as 434 million pounds ($600 million), a sale that may help lift the U.K. to its biggest ever first quarter for initial public offerings.

Shares will be offered at 250 pence to 265 pence each, according to terms of the sale seen by Bloomberg News. The IPO, which values the company at as much as 1.08 billion pounds, will run through March 22, with trading to begin the next day on the London Stock Exchange.

Companies have raised 4.8 billion pounds this year through IPOs in the U.K. capital, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and offerings from Trustpilot, Deliveroo and others could lift the total above the first-quarter record of 6.4 billion pounds set in 2006.

Shareholders plan to sell as much as 387 million pounds of existing stock in the IPO, while Trustpilot aims to offer 47 million pounds of stock. The IPO could raise as much as 499 million pounds if an option to sell additional shares from existing investors is exercised in full.

The company had gathered enough investor demand to cover the full deal size throughout the price range within about 1.5 hours of starting to take investor orders, according to terms. Indicated demand exceeds the full deal size, the terms show.

The IPO will help shore up confidence in London’s standing as a financial center, because it’s the first in the City by a company from the European Union since since the U.K. left the bloc. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are managing the offering, along with Berenberg and Danske Bank A/S.

Investment firms including BlackRock Inc., FIL Investments International, Caledonia Investments Plc, Capital Research Global Investors, Adelphi Capital and Janus Henderson Group Plc have agreed to collectively buy $240 million of Trustpilot stock at the IPO price, the company said last week.

Trustpilot is part of a wave of online-services companies that have seen their businesses expand because of coronavirus-induced lockdowns, and are selling shares to cash in on that growth. Its revenue jumped 25% last year to $101.9 million, and its loss narrowed to $12.2 million from $22.7 million in 2019.

Trustpilot had hosted 120 million reviews by the end of 2020. It makes money by selling subscriptions to businesses, which can use consumer reviews in their marketing materials and directly engage with customers on the platform. Chief Executive Officer Peter Holten Muhlmann founded the company in 2007, and its shareholders include Seed Capital, Vitruvian Partners, Draper Esprit, Northzone, Index Ventures and Sunley House.