Flybe refuses to ground rumours of £300m stock market flotation

Published on Sunday 29 November 2009 20:41

FLYBE, the low-cost regional airline, last night refused to rule out the possibility of a stock market flotation after reports emerged that it was preparing for a £300 million listing next year.

The Exeter-based company, which operates a number of routes out of Scotland, is understood to have told its long-standing adviser Merrill Lynch to prepare for a flotation.

Any move would bring a windfall for its staff and shareholders, led by chairman and chief executive Jim French. Among the beneficiaries would be the family trust of Jack Walker, the late Blackburn Rovers Football Club owner, which controls 69 per cent of the business.

French holds a 7 per cent stake, staff have 9 per cent, while British Airways owns the remaining 15 per cent, which it acquired when BA Connect, BA's regional airline, was sold to Flybe in 2006.

It is understood management want to wait until March when full-year figures for 2009 are published. They believe that substantial value has been added since the takeover of BA Connect.

This will be the third time the company has attempted a flotation since 2005.

Yesterday, a spokesman said: "Flybe's business is delivering a robust performance against the backdrop of difficult industry conditions. The directors of Flybe are very pleased with these results and with the numerous growth opportunities which the business has options to action.

"It may consider the possibility of a public listing at some point in the future when the demand for IPOs (initial public offerings] returns and provided an IPO could be undertaken in the best interests of the company, its shareholders and customers."

The airline was founded in 1979 as Jersey European Airways before being taken over by Jack Walker's steel empire in 1983.