UK Fund Platform Tight-Lipped Over IPO Chatter

Robbie Lawther

26 February 2018

Funds platform has declined to comment on reports that the firm plans to float on the London Stock Exchange, which it is has called “speculation”.

Sky News said last week that the firm, which is named after its founder and ‎chief executive, Andy Bell, had held a meeting with investment bankers in the last few weeks to prepare for an initial public offering (IPO).

The firm is unlikely to go public until the final quarter of this year at the earliest, the report said.

Bell, the founder of the eponymous firm, owns 28 per cent of the company, Woodford Investment Management, the firm headed by prominent fund manager Neil Woodford, ‎holds an 8 per cent stake, while Invesco Perpetual is the biggest shareholder with 37 per cent.

AJ Bell's senior management team own most of the remaining shares.

Speculation about a float comes after the firm’s CEO Bell said in an annual report last year that the market volatility and uncertainty of Britain’s departure would, with macroeconomic conditions, "present both challenges and opportunities".

A spokesperson for AJ Bell told WealthBriefing that it does not comment on market speculation.