Bath-based glasses designer Inspecs is looking at a potential flotation in the coming months, looking to raise roughly £94mln.
The company’s Killine arm designs and manufactures spectacles for brands such as Superdry and Radley, as well as making frames for high street retailers like Vision Express and Specsavers.
Inspecs, which was founded in 1988 by former bond traders Robin Totterman after he was unable to find glasses he liked, is looking to raise around £23.5mln for the company, while selling shareholders are also aiming to offload around £70.5mln worth of their holdings.
Operating from a pair of manufacturing bases in China and Vietnam, the group made a profit of $9mln in 2018 from turnover of $57.3mln.
Inspecs said in its annual report last summer that it plans to launch “processes with an intention to float on the AIM stock exchange”, with broker Peel Hunt reported last summer to have been targeting an autumn listing.
It is now looking at an initial public offer within weeks, the company said in a statement, with its market cap expected to be around £170mln.
Chairman of the group is former Tesco boss Ian MacLaurin, the man who hired Terry Leahy as his successor, while Harwood Private Equity has provided investment in recent years.