London set for fresh wave of floats this summer

London is set for a fresh wave of floats this summer as more companies tee up plans to go public. 

Following debuts by Dr Martens, Darktrace and Deliveroo among others, restaurant chain TGI Fridays and commodities trader Marex are the latest firms to announce listings in the City. 

Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies, a pain treatment firm which is backed by rapper Snoop Dogg, saw its shares soar as it made its debut yesterday. 

And it emerged that financial technology star Klarna, valued at almost £22billion, and maternity clothes chain Seraphine were exploring possible floats. 

Klarna boss Sebastian Siemiatkowski said his firm has been holding talks with the Government, which is trying to attract more technology businesses. 

Hours later, it was reported that Seraphine’s private equity owner, Mayfair Equity Partners, was set to hire bankers to look at float plans.

Siemiatkowski said the Square Mile could steal a march on rival European cities by becoming a hub for fintech innovation and good regulation.

‘That is going to benefit London standing outside the EU. People expected all the banks would move away [after Brexit]. I think it’s the opposite,’ he told the FT. 

Plans to float TGI Fridays later this year were unveiled as part of the winding down of private equity investment trust Electra. The trust told investors that it has recently valued the restaurant business at £146.2million but it could fetch a higher float price as the hospitality sector recovers from the pandemic. 

Electra is also set to spin off and float footwear business Hotter Shoes on Aim, London’s junior stock market, with a value of £19.2million 

Meanwhile, Marex confirmed reports that it will take advantage of the commodities boom with a listing in mid-June. It did not provide a valuation but it is thought the London Metal Exchange broker could be worth £500million.