Flexicom to raise £5m from public stock flotation

Flexicom, the Dublin-based company which provides software for the card payments industry, has said it will seek to raise between £5 million and £7 million when it floats up to 25 per cent of its shares before the end of the year.

The company, which is planning a dual listing on the Irish Developing Companies' Market (DCM) and on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), expects to be valued at more than £20 million.

It said some £5 million, or 70 per cent, of the money raised will by re-invested in the company and used to expand internationally.

Five years ago, Mr Patrick Shiel, the chief executive officer, co-founded the company with Dr John Clarke, the chief technical officer. The two are expected to share in a payout of around £2 million as a result of the flotation.

Since 1993, Flexicom has grown from the two founders to 60 staff and expects the numbers of employees to double over the next year. The company has appointed Mr Padraic White, former managing director of the IDA, as its chairman, while former Tanaiste and Labour Party leader Mr Dick Spring and Mr Noel Toolan, marketing director at Iona Technologies, have also been appointed to the board.

Flexicom's software, which is capable of handling multiple currencies simultaneously, is used in more than 12,000 points of sale in 11 countries worldwide and its list of blue-chip clients includes AIB, Barclays, Citibank, Midland Bank and the Dutch-based Interpay.

It has reported average annual sales growth of 60 per cent per annum over the last three years. This year it expects revenues of around £3 million.

The company's primary markets are Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe, while central and eastern Europe is a huge area of development, according to Ms Orla Branigan, senior vice-president marketing. Ireland currently accounts for 25 per cent of business and Europe for 70 per cent, while the rest of the world accounts for the balance.

The company's strategic aim in terms of business development geographically is to have Ireland account for 10 per cent of its business, Europe for 70 per cent and the rest of world for 20 per cent, Ms Branigan said. In particular, it is seeking to further develop in markets like south-east Asia, Latin America, North America and the Caribbean and the Middle East.

The company, which said it would hope to move to a full listing in two to three years' time, said it opted to float on the DCM and AIM because this best suited its needs at this stage of its development.