Superdry firm to float for £120m as IPO market shows signs of life

NEW life was breathed into the stagnant initial public offering (IPO) market yesterday, with three firms unveiling sought-after share offers that will see them collectively raise about £1.8 billion.

SuperGroup, the fashion retailer favoured by celebrities, said its shares would float at 500p, raising 120 million.

Promethean World, the education technology group, also confirmed a launch price, which puts its fund-raising efforts at 186m.

Meanwhile, private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is to list shares worth $2.2bn (1.5bn) in New York, having postponed its flotation plans due to the global financial crisis.

SuperGroup – the firm behind the Superdry brand worn by High School Musical actor Zac Efron and footballer David Beckham – is valued at 395m by the float. Its "heavily oversubscribed" private placement to institutional investors and a small retail offer will open on Monday.

The firm's management – led by chief executive Julian Dunkerton, who started the label as a market stall 25 years ago – will share 105m of the proceeds, with the balance used to fund growth.

Dunkerton will reap almost 80m from the float, with his stake falling from 53 per cent to 33 per cent. He will still have a 130m share of the business.

He founded the business in 1985 with a 40-a-week enterprise allowance scheme loan and has since built it into a chain with 39 stores in the UK and Ireland and 54 concessions in House of Fraser branches. It also has a presence in Belgium, France, Scandinavia, the US and Australia.

His partners – brand designer James Holder and international head Theo Karpathios – will also pick up multi-million pound pay-outs. The management's holding will fall to about 64.4 per cent.

The move will be the most significant IPO in the UK retail sector since Mike Ashley's Sports Direct floated in 2007 and comes just a month after UK budget fashion retailer New Look shelved its intention to float, blaming turbulent financial markets.

Dealing in SuperGroup shares will start on 24 March, a week after Promethean lists. The firm is selling 46.4 per cent of its 400m value through the issue of new shares – again heavily oversubscribed – as well as private equity firm Apax selling its 25 per cent stake. Founder Tony Cann is selling some 7 per cent of his stake, leaving him with a 39.6 per cent share, valued at about 160m.

Meanwhile, New York-based KKR said it would list shares representing 30 per cent of the company. That moved forward its two-year effort to become a publicly traded company: the firm originally sought a US public listing in July 2007, but postponed plans due to the financial crisis.

KKR bought Alliance Boots, the drugs wholesaler and pharmacy retailer, in Europe's largest buyout – a 10bn deal completed in June 2007, weeks before the credit crunch froze the debt markets.