Applegreen float raises €92M

Irish forecourt brand Applegreen has exceeded its target by raising almost €92m from its first listing on the junior stock exchanges in Dublin and London.

The initial public offering on Dublin’s ESM and London’s AIM raised some €70m for Applegreen and €21.7m for selling shareholders.

The company had stated it was hoping to raise €70 million in total.

The Applegreen float values the company at around €280m, while the money raised is expected to finance further expansion of the business in the UK, and upgrades for 70 of its existing forecourts in Ireland.

In London the shares had risen almost 8pc by the close of trading, to 299.5p, down from a high of 301p.

Applegreen is growing by some 20 sites per year. Its first Northern Ireland services opened in March, while in an interview with IF&CR’s sister publication Neighbourhood Retailer, chief operations officer Joe Barrett said the company was beginning work on a further three NI sites over the next 12 months.

In its IPO document, the company revealed revenues of €937.3m in the year to December 2014.