Fragrance Shop mulls £200m IPO

The owner of UK-based The Fragrance Shop is mulling a £200 million stock market float and is talking to bankers about the prospects.

The 215-store retail chain is a major player in the UK perfumes retail market and is Britain's largest independent perfume retailer. It’s controlled by entrepreneur Sanjay Vadera and Sky news said he’s talking to investment bank Rothschild.

Of course and IPO might not even happen, but if it does, it won't be until next year and the value being placed on the business is reported to be £200 million.

It could be a good opportunity for investors to buy into a more buoyant part of Britain's retail sector given the turmoil in the fashion and lifestyle markets following the failure of a number of chains in 2017 and also this year.

The Fragrance Shop said in response to the story: “Following strong year-on-year growth and positive Christmas 2017 trading figures, the business is exploring a number of strategic expansion opportunities available that will enable us to build on our success and continue to trade strongly within a challenging retail market. At this stage, no definitive decisions have been made with regards what that will look like.”

Specialist retailers like this one and The Perfume Shop have shaken up the UK fragrance market in recent years, taking sales from traditional department stores and also building strong online businesses.

They focus on big name brands, the labels that will see maximum demand, and offer them at the keenest prices with discounts a major feature of their operations.

Fragrance Shop mulls £200m IPO - report

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