Peel Hunt weighs IPO on back of UK corporate recovery

Peel Hunt is weighing a potential listing in London this year on the back of a rebound in trading and corporate activity from companies raising funds during the pandemic.

The London-based broker has appointed Evercore to explore options for the future of the business, according to people close to the process, although they cautioned that no decision had yet been made.

As part of these discussions, a listing in London was being considered, said one person, although they added that banks were likely to be approached in the coming months to provide further advice. The move was first reported by Sky News.

Peel Hunt, a limited partnership led by chief executive Steven Fine, provides corporate broking and advisory research, sales and trading in London’s small- and mid-cap stocks.

Revenue at Peel Hunt rose by almost 40 per cent to £96m in the year to March 31 2020, according to its most recent set of accounts, with profits before remuneration rising to £53m, from £31m the previous year. It employed about 250 people, according to the accounts.

Peel Hunt was founded in 1989. It was acquired by Belgian bank KBC in 2001, before a staff buyout in 2010. The majority of the firm is still owned by staff, alongside about a quarter owned by private investors that backed the buyout. 

The broker has continued to grow through the pandemic as companies raced first to raise cash to survive the initial economic lockdown, and then bolster their positions to take advantage of a broad recovery in many sectors.

This has also led to a sharp rebound in initial public offerings, with London having the strongest IPO fundraising in 14 years, according to EY. More funds were raised in the first quarter of 2021 than in any other first quarter since 2007, with 12 IPOs raising £5.2bn on the main market and eight raising £441m on Aim.

The UK government is consulting on reforms to the listing regime to encourage more companies to list in the UK as ministers seek to bolster the City of London after Brexit.

Peel Hunt declined to comment.