Oaktree’s Countryside valued at £1.01bn in IPO

Essex-based Countryside offered 135 million shares, representing around 30% of the company's outstanding shares. The offering equated to an offer size of £304m, with a share-value of 225p, the bottom of its expected price range of 225-275p a share.

Countryside received net proceeds of £114m from the sale, of which approximately £64m will be used to reduce the group's debt and £50m will be invested in the company's growth.

Oaktree and members of Countryside's management team sold shares in the offering, receiving £174m from the sale. If a full overallotment option is not exercised, Oaktree will still own a majority stake with 60.6% of the outstanding shares, while the management team will own around 7.6%.

Previous funding
The IPO is a return to the public market for Countryside, which was listed in London between 1972-2005, when founder Alan Cherry sought to take the business private through the Copthorn Holding. In 2009, Lloyds Banking Group took control of Countryside as part of a refinancing deal and, in 2013, Oaktree Capital Management led an MBO, acquiring a majority stake.

Company
Countryside is a property building company based in Brentwood. The company, which was founded in 1958, develops residential homes and mixed-use communities, primarily operating in the London area and in the south-east, the east and the north-west of England. The business generated £615.8m in revenues in 2015 and employs 637 people.

People
Countryside – David Howell (chairperson); Ian Sutcliffe (CEO).

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