Comparethemarket.com owner pushes stock market float back to end of 2017
The owner of price comparison website Comparethemarket.com has pushed back its plans for a £2bn stock market float, City PM has learned.
BGL Group appointed JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley to advise on its initial public offering (IPO) last summer, and was expected to list early this year.
Read more: London set for biggest IPO in six years as warehouse giant plots 2017 float
However, it is understood that, while the plans are progressing, BGL is now aiming to float in the last quarter of 2017.
BGL is understood to be relaxed on the timing of its float, and sources distanced the delay from market uncertainty, which saw a number of high-profile IPOs pulled late last year.
“It’s still very much an uncertain market at the moment,” said Scott McCubbin, IPO leader at EY, pointing to European elections and Brexit.
“If you’re able to provide a stable market, you will find that the IPO market begins to recover. But it needs that certainty.”
Read more: Global IPO values set to grow by more than a quarter this year
Bankers and lawyers spoken to by City PM this month have talked up a large pipeline of companies seeking to go public.
Along with Blackstone’s €13bn-valued Logicor and Telefonica’s O2, BGL was one of the biggest floats anticipated this year.