The financial services company has proposed raising £30m by placing 17.6m ordinary shares and £34.6m by placing 20.3m shares on behalf of selling shareholders all at a price of 170 pence.
SimplyBiz is the parent company of broker network SimplyBiz Mortgages, and the group also includes SimplyBiz Services, Compliance First, SIFA, Verbatim Asset Management, Home Information Group, APS Legal and Zest Technology Limited.
The group has more than 3,400 directly authorised member firms, providing compliance and regulation services to financial intermediary members, including IFAs, mortgage advisers, workplace consultants and consumer credit brokers.
The intermediary division revenues were £22.1 million, representing around half of group revenues in 2017.
The company also has a distribution channels division providing marketing and promotion, product panelling and co-manufacturing services to more than 135 financial firms, including 46 mortgage lenders.
Matt Timmins and Neil Stevens, joint chief executives, have been running the business since 2010.
Funds raised from the float will be used to optimise the capital structure of the business via paying down its debt, SimplyBiz said in a statement.
IPO to raise SimplyBiz profile
Zeus Capital Limited is acting as nominated adviser and sole broker to the company in the IPO.
Timmins said: “We are delighted to announce our proposed placing and admission to AIM.
“Our IPO will mark the next stage in our growth story, building on our long, profitable track record.
“Our business has evolved significantly since 2002 and we are now the UK’s leading provider of compliance and business services to directly authorised financial advisers.
“Through our entrepreneurial culture and clarity of strategic vision we have become a disruptive force in financial intermediation, building a membership base of over 3,400 adviser firms and associated proprietary network of 135 financial institutions.”
Stevens added: “Our IPO on the London Stock Exchange will further raise the profile of The SimplyBiz Group for anyone looking to buy shares inside it, providing additional momentum to our growth strategy and enabling us to put in place additional incentive schemes for our staff.
“We will remain focused on delivering high quality solutions for our customers and continuing to support them in all aspects of running a compliant and successful advice business.
“Our new institutional shareholders will deliver long-term capital that will enable us to develop the group in the years ahead; we welcome them on board and look forward to sharing our growth journey together.”
