GCA Altium has acted as financial and nominated adviser on the IPO of Footasylum plc, a UK-based fashion retailer focusing on the branded footwear and apparel markets.
The IPO valued the business at GBP171.3 million raising GBP65.4 million for Footasylum and existing shareholders, with the first day of dealings taking place on 2 November 2017. The IPO will provide the business with the funding and platform to continue its expansion and investment in its new store openings and online retail activities.
Footasylum was founded in 2005 by David Makin, an established retail operator who was one of the two co-founders of the JD Sports chain. He was later joined by John Wardle, the other co-founder of the JD Sports chain. Clare Nesbitt led the IPO having joined the business in 2009 and becoming CEO in 2015.
The business has developed a clear growth strategy to increase its market share, and has plans to open eight to ten new stores per year, seeing capacity for at least 150 UK stores. The business recorded GBP147 million in revenue, with an EBITDA of GBP11.2 in FY2017.
The company retails “on-trend” product ranges which are predominantly aimed at 16 to 24 year old fashion-conscious customers and are sourced from an extensive stable of third party and own brands. These include well-known sports and casual footwear and apparel brands (for example Adidas, Nike and Under Armour), as well as up-and-coming brands and own label products such as Kings Will Dream and Glorious Gangsta.
Footasylum operates a multi-channel model which combines a 61-strong store estate with a fast-growing eCommerce platform and a recently launched wholesale arm for distributing its own brand ranges via a network of partners. eCommerce represented approximately 30% of this year’s revenues.
The business has assembled an impressive management team and board to execute its continued strategy of investment in the expansion of its existing routes to market, technology systems and marketing programmes in order to support its future growth and optimise its engagement with its customers.
The process was led by Phil Adams, Dominic Orsini and Tom Battersby from GCA Altium’s Manchester team and Sam Fuller, Laura Meaden and Tim Richardson in London.
Clare Nesbitt, Chief Executive Officer of Footasylum, says: “Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the Footasylum story. We are delighted that our product-led, multi-channel expansion strategy has resonated so strongly with investors, and are thrilled to have received such a strong level of demand for the IPO.
“We are very pleased with the outcome and it was a pleasure to work with the GCA Altium team throughout. They showed strength in depth across their corporate finance, debt advisory and capital markets teams and have real expertise to bring to bear in the Consumer sector. They ran an efficient process providing clear advice throughout which enabled us to select an IPO as the best route to achieve a fantastic springboard for future growth.”
Phil Adams, CEO at GCA Altium, says: “It has been a fantastic experience working with such a driven management team and group of founding shareholders. Footasylum has shown remarkable growth and has a great platform to continue this both online and in physical stores. We worked closely with the board and family shareholders to review a number of options for funding the next phase of development and believe that IPO represents the best platform for the company to flourish.
“We believe that we were well suited to work with the business, given not only our expertise in the Consumer sector but also our ability to provide advice in the client’s best interests across a full range of options including the IPO and private equity routes.”
Sam Fuller, Managing Director at GCA Altium, says: “Footasylum is a cracking business, combining traditional bricks and mortar retail expertise, a fast-growing online presence and a young dynamic management team and we look forward to working with them post-IPO. This deal represents GCA Altium’s 13th UK consumer transaction in the last 12 months, reinforcing our reputation as one of the leading mid-market consumer sector M&A advisors.”
