Thetrainline.com sets plans for £500m flotation
Rail bookings firm Thetrainline.com is set to announce an ambitious £500m flotation on the London Stock Exchange in what will be the first technology IPO of the year.
Such a valuation would net the website a £75m windfall after its owners, Exponent Private Equity, ruled out a sale of the business, which it purchased in 2006 for £160m.
Rail travel has been booming in Britain over recent years with thetrainline.com becoming a market leader in providing digital services to most rail companies and profiting through a cut of all ticket sales made through its portal.
Reflecting these changes annual revenues rose to £107.4m last year although pre-tax profit fell nine per cent to £38.3m.
A spate of technology IPO’s have taken place in recent months notably the retailer AO.com and takeaway provider Just Eat which were both valued in excess of £1bn.