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Moonpig poised to unveil £1bn stock market flotation

LaToya Harding
·Business Reporter, Yahoo Finance UK
Updated ·2 min read
Moonpig's owners, Exponent Private Equity, are considering an initial public offering (IPO) in London within the next fortnight. Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty
Moonpig's owners, Exponent Private Equity, are considering an initial public offering (IPO) in London within the next fortnight. Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty

Online greeting card retailer Moonpig Group, is set to reveal a plan to float on the London stock market this month, in a move that could value the company at £1bn ($1.36bn).

Moonpig's owners, Exponent Private Equity, are said to be making an announcement that the company will pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in London within the next fortnight.

Citi bank and JP Morgan are leading the listing, Sky News first reported, which will value the company at more than £1bn, and potentially as much as £1.5bn

If the float goes through this month, it will be the first in a queue of British unicorns to go public this year.

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The company has seen a recent boost in sales during the coronavirus pandemic as it snatched market share from its high street rivals like Clintons and Paperchase.

WATCH: European markets rise despite further Covid-19 lockdowns

READ MORE: UK retail sales go into reverse for first time in six months

It comes days after stationery chain Paperchase announced that it is on the verge of administration as high street retailers deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, which hit them particularly hard over the holiday period.

Mike Woodcock, the company’s chief financial officer, filed court papers on Tuesday indicating plans to appoint administrators to Paperchase Products Limited, its main operating business.

Accountancy firm PwC has been pulled in to handle the process. Filing the notice is a legal measure which will protect Paperchase from its creditors for 10 days.

A Paperchase spokesperson told Yahoo Finance all of its 127 stores across the country, and 46 concession stalls, were closed for five months last year due to lockdowns, which put an “unbearable strain” on the company.

Moonpig has about 12 million customers and sends 45 million cards a year. In the year to April 2020, it made £44m worth of profit on the back of sales of £173m in sales.

WATCH: UK retail sales fell 3.8% in November as lockdown hit stores