Waste collection company Biffa is set to return to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday (20 October) for the first time in eight years.
The waste management company is looking to raise £262m via a listing to fuel its acquisition drive in the sector, which it sees as ripe for consolidation.
Biffa’s return to the stock market got off to a shaky start after it was forced to reduce its Initial Public Offering from a price range of 220p to 270p down to 180p per share earlier this week after it failed to secure sufficient interest among investors.
It attributed this to a cautious post-Brexit market, but has remained upbeat. Biffa chief executive Ian Wakelin said the return to the London Stock Exchange, following its purchase by private equity in 2008, marked “a significant milestone for Biffa”.
“This listing is an endorsement of Biffa’s business model, strategy, track record and prospects,” he added.
Biffa, which collects waste for 40 councils, predicts the UK waste market will grow 5% a year to £18.5bn by 2020.
Biffa’s industrial and commercial division has around 1,200 collection vehicles operating from 63 depots and 29 transfer stations.
It had a turnover of more than £621m in the year to March 2015, with pre-tax profit of £7.2m. It also specialises in hazardous waste removal and energy generation from landfill and food waste.
