Arab News, Wed, Apr 17, 2024 | Shawwal 8, 1445
UAE grocery store chain Spinneys to float 25% stake on Dubai Financial Market
Saudi Arabia:
UAE-based grocery store operator Spinneys 1961 Holding PLC has announced its
intention to proceed with an initial public offering on the Dubai Financial
Market.
Al Seer Group, Spinney’s parent company and the
selling shareholder, expects to sell 25 percent of the total issued share
capital of the firm, equivalent to a total of 900 million shares.
The IPO’s subscription period will begin on April
23 and the DFM listing is set for May 9, the company said in a release.
The offering will be made available to UAE retail
investors with 5 percent or 45 million shares in the first tranche, while the
second tranche will provide professional stakeholders with 855 million shares.
Ali Saeed Juma Al-Bwardy, founder and chairman of
Spinneys, said: “Ours is a brand with huge ambition, positioned to flourish in
the GCC’s most attractive and fast-growing markets. Our IPO represents an
opportunity for investors to be part of our next stage of growth and we are
excited to embark on a new chapter, bringing our fresh opportunity to a wider
shareholder base.”
The release stated that the price per share, or
offer price, will be denominated in Emirati dirhams and will be announced before
the offer period.
Rothschild & Co Middle East Limited has been
selected as the independent financial advisor for the IPO, while Emirates NBD
Capital PSC has been appointed as the listing advisor.
The UAE firm operates 75 premium grocery retail
supermarkets under the Spinneys, Waitrose, and Al Fair brands in the UAE and
Oman. Additionally, it plans to open its first store in Saudi Arabia in the
first half of 2024.
The company aims to leverage the UAE’s robust
economic landscape, with the economy projected to grow at an annual rate of 3.4
percent from 2022 to 2028, and high average disposable income per capita
expected to increase by 2.3 percent over the same period.
While the UAE’s population is forecasted to grow
by 0.7 percent from 2022 to 2028, the supermarket chain expects its target
market of affluent individuals to increase at an annual rate of 4.3 percent over
the same period.
This growth is anticipated to drive sustained
demand for premium food in the UAE.
Similarly, the group’s expansion into the Saudi
market, the Gulf Cooperation Council’s largest economy, will concentrate on
opening stores in Jeddah and Riyadh, the Kingdom’s most populous cities.
“We have much to be excited about this year as we
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Spinneys brand in the region, with plans
to enter the thriving Saudi market, where we see immense potential for our
business,” said Sunil Kumar, CEO of Spinneys.
The company said the market for affluent shoppers
in the grocery retail segment is surpassing overall grocery market growth in the
Kingdom, with a projected growth rate of 6.7 percent in Riyadh and Jeddah.
This announcement marks the second DFM listing
this year, following the $429 million IPO of public parking operations company
Parkin last month.
Parkin’s IPO set a record-breaking debut for
Dubai, being oversubscribed 165 times and attracting $71 billion in demand.