Marlborough International, the Republic's largest recruitment company, is hoping to raise £10 million of capital by floating on the Dublin and London stock exchanges. The flotation is expected to value the stake of company's managing director, Mr David McKenna, at between £10 million and £15 million.
The company which has two subsidiaries, the Marlborough Group and the Professional Placement Group (PPG), is to list on the Developing Companies Market (DCM) in Dublin and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London.
The majority of the capital is to be used to fund business development and future acquisitions. The number of shares finally issued will depend on the value the market puts on the company.
The company hope to raise the £10 million by placing £4 million of shares held by Mr McKenna, and issuing £6 million of new shares to the market.
Marlborough say it is too early for the company to seek a full listing on either exchange. NCB who are acting as Marlborough's broker for both listings, estimates the company will have a market capitalisation of between £20 and £30 million. After the flotation, Mr McKenna's will remain the majority shareholder, although the issuing of £6 million of new shares is likely to dilute his shareholding down to about 60 per cent.
The other two current shareholders are Mr John Nolan, finance director, who has a 5 per cent stake and Mr Adrian McGennis, group manager and technical division manager, who also has 5 per cent. Neither of these directors are selling their shares. The company expects the £10 million to be divided equally among investors in Dublin and London.
Mr McKenna bought the company for £6,000 during a liquidation in 1992, since then its pre-tax profits have increased to £805,000 for the year to February 28th, 1997, mainly due to its large presence in the corporate recruiting market.
Marlborough will be the first Irish recruiting company to acquire a Dublin listing, although there are several listed in London, some of them with large market capitalisations.
The listing is part of the company's plan to expand by making major acquisitions in Britain over the next year. Mr McKenna said the company was presently examining several possibilities.
The company chairman, Mr Niall Welch said the working capital was badly needed by the company for acquisitions, and growth by taking on debt would have hampered the company.
A "lock in" arrangement for all executive shareholders has been agreed for a year after flotation. According to the company, this shows the confidence directors have in it. The phenomenal growth of Marlborough is likely to encourage investors in both markets. Operating profit has grown from £173,000 in the year ended February 1995 to £805,000 in the year to February 28th, 1997. Net fee income has increased from £2.09 to £4.64 million, while profit after tax has grown from £64,000 to £424,000 in the same period.
Trading in Marlborough shares is expected to begin on the 29th of October on both exchanges.
