Furniture retailer DFS to embark on £1bn London flotation
Furniture stockists DFS has reportedly been valued at between £600m and £1bn ahead of a flotation on the London Stock Market next month, showering investors with a timely windfall.
According to Sky News a date has been set of 4 February by Advent International, the private equity firm which owns the business, to unveil the flotation plan that should raise in excess of £100m.
It caps a strong year for the retailer which has seen it expand under difficult circumstances by taking over smaller rivals such as Sofa Workshop and Dwell.
Speaking prior to Christmas DFS chief executive Ian Filby said: “I am very pleased to report another strong quarterly performance, building on the momentum established in the second half of our last financial year.
"Our results aggregated for the last four quarters, covering the period ended 1 November 2014, represent a record twelve months for DFS."
DFS is the UK’s second largest furniture retailer behind IKEA with over 100 stores nationwide.