Forecourt operator Applegreen to float on the stock market

Irish forecourt operator Applegreen has announced plans to float on the stock market in June. The company intends to raise ¤70 million gross from the sale of 25 per cent of the company.

This will involve its current owners diluting their stakes, and the issue of new shares. The shares will be traded on the junior ESM market in Dublin and the Alternative Investment Market in London.

Applegreen’s plans to float were first revealed in The Irish Times some months ago.

Applegreen operates as a price disrupter in the market, with a 12 per cent share in the Republic. It employs 2,200 staff across 152 service stations in Ireland, the UK and Long Island in New York.

It achieved Ebitda of ¤22.8 million on revenues of ¤937.3 million in 2014. Revenues have risen from ¤708.7 million in 2012 as the company has expanded rapidly.

It plans to use the funds to upgrade about 70 forecourts and to fuel future expansion. It is currently adding 20 sites a year to its network.

Applegreen also announced the appointment of experienced businessman Daniel Kitchen as chairman of the company. The board also includes former Ryanair executive Howard Millar.

On a media call yesterday, Bob Etchingham, CEO of Applegreen, said the IPO would be an “important platform for the long term growth strategy of the business”.

The company will now undertake an investor roadshow in Ireland, the UK and the US. Mr Etchingham said its sites in Long Island were part of a “learning opportunity” for the business and it might use them as a launchpad into expanding into US north east.

But it’s main focus would be on growth in the UK and Ireland. The company expects to add another 13 locations to its network this year. Many of its sites are held on leaseholds but the funding from an IPO would give the opportunity to “enter the freehold space as well”. New sites cost between €500,000 and €1.5 million to develop, the company said.