Books close on Wednesday for the up to £220m IPO of UK sports nutrition company Applied Nutrition that provides the first significant opportunity this year for retail to invest in a London IPO.
Individual participation is certain to be substantial thanks to £25m of backing from four entrepreneurs from the North West of England, a deviation from the norm in which cornerstones are typically companies making a strategic investment or institutional investors. The expectation that Liverpudlian royalty Coleen and Wayne Rooney will invest in the IPO adds to the sense of regional backing for a local business.
The maker of protein drinks, snack bars and workout supplements has set guidance of 136p–160p per share on a minimum offering of approximately 100m shares, representing a 40% free-float and a market capitalisation of £340m–£400m.
Up to 137.4m shares are on offer for an up to 55% free-float, meaning the deal size ranges from a minimum £136m–£160m to £220m if the maximum number of shares are sold at the top of the range. Despite flexibility on size, there is no greenshoe so there will be no stabilisation.
Books opened on Tuesday and the deal was covered on Thursday at the minimum size.
The float is all secondary, with most shares coming from CEO Tom Ryder, COO Steven Granite and retailer JD Sports. Ryder will retain at least 30% following the IPO, and Granite and JD Sports at least 5% each.
The range represents an estimated 2025 EV/Ebitda of 10.8–12.8 and P/E of 15–17. There is little in the way of a direct peer group, with Bellring Brands in the US and Ireland’s Glanbia the best there is. Once THG completes a planned spinoff of its e-commerce unit later this year it will be a decent peer.
For 2025, Bellring has an estimated EV/Ebitda of 18.9 and P/E of 30.1, according to LSEG data. For Glanbia, where sports nutrition represents about half its business (and US cheese and a quarter), EV/Ebitda is 8.3 with P/E of 11.3.
Mohsin Issa, who co-founded Euro Garages with his brother and later bought Asda together with TDR Capital, is investing £10m in the IPO, with £4m coming from William Ainscough of housebuilder Wain Group, £6m from Tom Morris of discount chain Home Bargains and £5m from property magnate George Downing.
Applied Nutrition last month signed Coleen Rooney, who has a million Instagram followers, as a brand ambassador. As part of the deal CWR, a company owned by the Rooneys, has the right to participate in the IPO and is expected to exercise that right.
Institutional books close at 12pm in London on Wednesday and a retail offer through RetailBook wraps up at 10am. There is no cap on the retail tranche, which is already impressive as the cornerstones will subscribe via intermediaries. Raspberry Pi's London IPO earlier this year attracted significant retail interest but it was capped at €8m-equivalent.
Trading is due on Thursday.
Deutsche Numis is sole bookrunner. Total fees and expenses for the vendors are £4m–£5m, depending on size and price.