Mountain Warehouse warms to the idea of flotation

Outdoor leisurewear retailer Mountain Warehouse is mulling a stock market flotation that could crystallise a Âmulti-million pound fortune for founder and majority owner, Mark Neale.

Mountain Warehouse, which has 20 stores in  Scotland including Edinburgh, Elgin and Fort William, is understood to have hired investment bankers  Rothschild to advise on the float.

It is thought the offering could value the company, of which Neale owns 85 per cent, at more than £200 million. Proceeds would be used to pay down debt and open more outlets in addition to the 190-plus it already has in the UK, sources said.

The company has also been expanding abroad, with a dozen stores in Germany and Poland. Mountain Warehouse, which Neale started with one store in Swindon in the 1990s, revealed last month that same-floorspace sales over the festive period jumped nearly 15 per cent.