Moonpig Group, the online purveyor of greeting cards and gifts, is expected to unveil plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in what is expected to be one of the first major initial public offerings of 2021.
The company, which has been owned by private equity group Exponent since 2016, is reportedly planning to list later this month and is expected to fetch a valuation of up to £1.5bn.
An IPO follows a bumper 2020 for the company, which has seen its sales and profits surge during the pandemic and managed to take market share from its high-street based rivals such as Paperchase, which earlier this week appointed administrators as its stores were forced to close in the run-up to the festive season, putting 1,500 jobs at risk.
Moonpig’s floatation will also mark a return to the stock market for former WH Smith PLC (LON:SMWH) and SSP Group plc (LON:SSPG) Kate Swann, who serves as the group’s chair.
Moonpig could also fire the starting gun for what is expected to be a string of IPOs for the LSE this year, with other firms including Deliveroo, TransferWise and cybersecurity firm Darktrace also slated to float in 2021.