The Times - Shein18 Nov 2024 19:02
PART ONE
Shein plans London stock market float in 2025
The Chinese-founded online fast-fashion giant is targeting early next year for its £50bn blockbuster IPO
Isabella Fish, Retail Editor, The Times
Monday November 18 2024, 12.01am, The Times
It is estimated that a potential flotation would value the business at £50.3 billion
Shein, the Chinese-founded online fast-fashion giant, is targeting early next year for its £50 billion blockbuster float on the London Stock Exchange.
The Times has learnt that the Singapore-headquartered company is gearing up to launch its planned initial public offering (IPO) in the first quarter of 2025, subject to pending regulatory approvals.
Sources with knowledge of the matter said the retailer was preparing to hold an official investor roadshow in the coming weeks, during which meetings are held between the management team of a company raising money and institutional investors. Shein is understood to be working with US investment banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley on the float.
Chris Xu, Shein’s reclusive billionaire founder, and Donald Tang, its executive chairman, have already started meeting investors in the UK to field their questions and test their investment appetite. Several US-based investors that have stakes in British retail companies are also understood to have been approached.
A prospectus for the IPO is said to be circulating among select stakeholders, but not yet formally published.
Shein was originally hoping to list in America but the US Securities and Exchange Commission told the company that its application would not be accepted unless it submitted a public filing. Shein did not find the expected glare palatable and it is now aiming to list in London.
It has been estimated that a potential flotation would value the business at £50.3 billion, which would make it one of the largest deals for the London Stock Exchange in a decade.
However, the plans have provoked concerns about its environmental, social and governance credentials, notably its labour and supply chain policies. Several senior politicians have said that a listing should be subjected to greater scrutiny, while retailers have complained that Shein gets a price advantage by avoiding duty and VAT for British consumers.
Regulatory delays from the Chinese government are understood to have slowed progress, though it remains unclear whether this is due to Beijing’s new overseas listing rules or broader concerns about Shein’s exposure. Although the company is headquartered in Singapore, the bulk of its operations —including its supply chain and thousands of employees — remain based in China, adding complexity to the listing process. The election of Donald Trump and a potential US trade war with China could create further complications.
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