MHA has become the latest professional services firm to announce an initial public offering. The audit and advisory network has outlined plans to float on the London AIM market in the near-future.
The Alternative Investment Market (AIM) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Designed to help smaller companies access capital from the public market, the AIM allows companies to raise capital by listing on a public exchange with much greater regulatory flexibility than the main LSE stock market.
In recent years, this has seen a number of consulting firms look to announce initial public offerings (IPOs) in the hopes of funding further growth. Firms adopting this tactic have included Elixirr and FRP Advisory.
According to reports from City AM, MHA– the UK arm of the global Baker Tilly network – is set to launch an IPO with AIM targeting a £350 million valuation. This includes a plan to bring in around £6 million from British retail investors – while raising up to £125 million from the float in the coming weeks.
Confirming the firm’s intention to float, a statement from an MHA spokesperson read, “MHA can confirm that subject to regulatory approval, the firm intends to apply for a listing on the London AIM market in the coming weeks. The feedback from potential investors has been positive over the last few weeks underlining that this is an exciting move for our firm and our people and we believe a welcome one for the London market.”
The statement added that the IPO would fuel the firm’s growth, allowing “greater investments in our people, technology and further acquisitions”. The move could also help MHA to “become an even more attractive proposition to potential new recruits at both a senior and entry level.”
IPOs are a common way of consultancies raising capital – but not the only route to that goal. A growing number of companies are also turning to direct investment from private equity, to help them boost growth while retaining their independence. Most recently, this saw Grant Thornton join forces with Cinven – an investment which also helped it weather the storm that has previously seen it commit to layoffs similar to those seen at the Big Four, amid slowed growth.