Transact’s chief executive has said the company is waiting for the right market conditions as it lays the groundwork before making an initial public offering (IPO) of 25 per cent of its business.
The company, which first revealed plans for an IPO in 2010, has announced it will float at least 25 per cent which is the target amount needed for a flotation on the stock exchange.
Ian Taylor, chief executive of Transact, said the company was waiting for the right market conditions.
He said: “We have a variety of things we have to do to get ourselves into structural shape. The work is shaping and has been progressing. Once we are ready the next thing is see what the market condition are. You don’t want to float into a bad market. So there is no firm date.”
Mr Taylor said that the proposed flotation had its advantages: “It provides some liquidity for shareholders and an opportunity for people to buy shares in the business, and enables us to retain control over the business if we wish to.”
Platforms are the absolute dominant infrastructure for all FS services. Ian TaylorHe said the company would “not necessarily” float more than 25 per cent of the business.
Mr Taylor said the platform market was very healthy. He said: “It is doing extremely well. We were the first platform to launch 16 years ago.
“Since then the whole shape of retail financial services in the UK has changed and platforms now are the absolute dominant infrastructure for all retail financial services. Eighty to 90 per cent of advisers are going through a platform which in 16 years is a remarkable change.”
Rebecca Robertson, director and financial planner at Evolution for Women, said: “Platforms are a good way for clients to see an overview or snapshot of their investments. Otherwise clients don’t like statements coming through the post and tend to stuff them into a drawer.
“With clients using the online format you can see why platforms have had such growth. This can only be positive in terms of client management of their finances.”
