Rare sighting: UK homecare provider mulls summer listing

Hales Group, a provider of homecare in the UK, is considering floating on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market this summer.

Founded in 1999, the company provides care for people in their own homes, including retirement communities or assisted living accommodation.

Hales has around 1,700 staff who make over 2.8m home visits annually across the East and North of England, Midlands, and Yorkshire.

The company provides a range of services, including dementia care, specialist care, companionship, end-of-life care and live-in care, mainly through long-term contracts with local authorities and the NHS.

With revenue of over £24m last year, Hales hopes to benefit from the growth in the UK homecare market, which is forecast to swell 15 per cent over the next seven years.

“An AIM IPO would accelerate the group’s growth strategy to broaden the scope of care that it offers, expand the geographical area it covers, and continue to build economies of scale including by investment in technology and pursuit of suitable acquisitions in the homecare sector to grow the business,” the company said.

Despite this optimism, companies listed on AIM have been dropping like flies. The number of listings on the market has dropped more than 30 per cent since 2016.

High costs and low liquidity have been cited as key reasons for leaving the market. Small businesses have decided to return to the private market or have sought out a buyer to free themselves from the capital constraints.

The company added that current shareholders in Hales, including majority shareholder Nigel Wray, would not reduce their holdings in the flotation.

Jeffrey Fowler, founder and executive chair of Hales Group, said: “After many years of delivering growth as a private company, an AIM IPO would be a significant milestone for the business, enabling us to accelerate our growth ambitions.

“Given the UK’s ageing population, the preferences of the vast majority of adults to receive care in their own homes, and the rising costs of residential care, we have a clear opportunity to consolidate in an attractive and growing, yet highly fragmented homecare sector.

“A successful IPO would provide access to funding to deliver on this opportunity, build on our strong platform as a scale provider, and grow our market share to cement our position as a key provider in the UK homecare market.

“We have a highly experienced and committed management team in place to deliver the Group’s strategy and drive the business forward. We are also extremely thankful to our hard-working employees, who consistently strive to deliver the best quality service to all of the people in their care and uphold Hales’ values.”