Applied Nutrition guns for £220m fundraise in London IPO

Sports health brand Applied Nutrition is seeking to raise up to £220m in its IPO later this month in what could be one of London’s biggest stock market floats this year.

The Liverpool-based firm, which is backed by sportswear giant JD Sports, said on Tuesday that the price range for its planned IPO has been set at 136p to 160p per share.

The offer comprises up to 137.4m shares to be sold by certain existing shareholders of the company.

Applied Nutrition said the planned IPO would imply an estimated market capitalisation of between £340m of £400m.

The firm added that four “prominent and highly successful North West entrepreneurs” had committed to invest a combined £25m in the IPO as cornerstone investors.

These include Mohsin Issa, who along with his brother Zuber founded petrol forecourts empire EG Group in 2001 before becoming one of Asda’s largest shareholders in 2021.

Applied Nutrition was founded in 2014 by Tom Ryder, who also serves as its chief executive. JD Sports Fashion acquired a 32 per cent stake in the firm in 2021 before it launched in the US a year later.

The planned IPO offers a boost to the beleagured London Stock Exchange, which has struggled with a drop-off in new listings and big names seeking better returns overseas in recent years.

Just nine firms have floated in the capital so far this year, while the 23 IPOs seen in 2023 marked the worst year for listings in almost three decades.

Still, bankers are expecting a rebound in 2025, citing positive investor sentiment after an overhaul of listing rules in July and Raspberry Pi’s June float, which valued the computer firm at £542m.

Applied Nutrition is working with Deutsche Numis as sole sponsor, sole global co-ordinator and sole bookrunner on the planned IPO.