BC's Foxtons to raise £55m in flotation

Ellie Pullen
27 August 2013

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

London-based estate agent Foxtons, backed by BC Partners, is to float on the London Stock Exchange in September and plans to raise ТЃ55m in a sale of both new and BC-owned shares.

The capital raised from the IPO will reportedly be used to fully pay off Foxtons' current debt. The units on offer comprise new shares and a partial sale of shares currently held by BC, and could include shares held by Foxtons' executive directors.

The listing is expected to take place next month. Approximately 50% of the company's shares will be in free float following the IPO, according to reports.

BC recently hired Credit Suisse, Numis Securities and Canaccord Genuity to handle the flotation, with Credit Suisse and Numis acting as joint bookrunners. NM Rothschild & Sons is believed to be acting as financial adviser.

BC initially acquired Foxtons in May 2007, for an undisclosed value believed to be somewhere in the region of £390m. In January 2010, creditors Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Mizuho Financial Group took control of a 55% stake in the company following the restructuring of Foxtons' debt. The restructuring saw BC's stake reduced to 30%, according to unquote" data.

However, in March last year BC acquired the two banks' 55% shareholding in the company for somewhere between £55m-75m, upping its stake to 85%.

Foxtons was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Chiswick. The company recorded turnover of £120m in 2012, as well as an EBITDA of £38.3m.

The announcement of Foxtons' IPO follows swiftly behind a partial exit by the private equity backers of Foxtons' listed rival Countrywide. Oaktree Capital Management and Apollo Management netted approximately £200m from a shares sale earlier this month.