LONDON (Alliance News) - Financial planning and wealth management firm Harwood Wealth Group PLC on Friday said it will float on AIM, while student accommodation developer Watkin Jones Ltd provided more detail on its upcoming AIM listing.
Harwood said it has raised GBP13.5 million through a fundraising ahead of admission to the London junior market, run by broker and nominated adviser N+1 Singer. Of this, GBP10.0 million has been raised as new equity for the company. Harwood later Friday said it expects to be valued at GBP45.0 million by market capitalisation when its shares begin trading.
The firm is the parent of a group of financial planning and discretionary wealth management firms based in the UK, focused on providing investment advice, management and administration services to clients.
Harwood intends to use the proceeds to grow its business further, retain key staff and pursue potential acquisitions.
"Following the Retail Distribution Review the industry is undergoing significant structural change. Many financial advisory firms have strong client books but unworkable, fragmented models, rising regulatory costs and a need to outsource certain functions or to be acquired," said Alan Durrant, joint chief executive of Harwood alongside Neil Dunkley.
"All these factors create a significant opportunity for Harwood Wealth's acquisitive growth strategy and the vertically integrated model," Durrant added.
Watkin Jones, meanwhile, had flagged its upcoming listing via a regulatory filing earlier this week, but provided more detail on its plans on Friday.
The company, which will also list on AIM, did not give details on how many shares it would float or at what price, but said it expects dealings in its shares to start on March 23 and that its expected market capitalisation upon admission will be around GBP255.0 million.
Zeus Capital is acting as nominated adviser, joint bookrunner and joint broker to the firm, with Peel Hunt joint bookrunner and joint broker.
Watkin Jones is a UK-based student accommodation developer with an additional exposure to the private rented sector. It currently has 31 developments in the pipeline, which remain on track. For the year to the end of September 2015, it posted an operating profit of GBP32.5 million on revenue of GBP244.2 million.
The company is chaired by Grenville Turner, also the chairman of FTSE 250-listed estate agent and property services firm Countrywide PLC.
"We are delighted to announce our plans to join the AIM market. The entire team has worked hard to establish our position as a leader in the UK student accommodation development market, and it is this ability and ambition that will allow us to capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead," said Chief Executive Mark Watkin Jones.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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