Spinneys IPO: Retailer increases retail offering on higher demand

Company could raise up to $375.7 million from the listing on the Dubai Financial Market

Spinneys operates 75 premium grocery retail supermarkets under its own brand, as well as the Waitrose and Al Fair brands in the UAE and Oman. Photo: Spinneys

Spinneys, the operator of premium supermarkets in the UAE and Oman, has increased the number of shares allocated to retail investors in its initial public offering, with the company expected to raise up to Dh1.37 billion ($375.7 million) through the float.

The total number of shares offered to retail investors has been increased to 63 million, from 45 million, representing 7 per cent of the total offering, the company said on Tuesday.

However, the overall size of the offering remains unchanged at 900 million shares, representing 25 per cent of the total issued share capital of the company.

Shares allocated to professional investors have been reduced to 837 million, from 855 million, the company said.

The offer price range has been set between Dh1.42 and Dh1.53 a share, implying a market capitalisation of between Dh5.11 billion and Dh5.51 billion on listing.

The final offer price will be announced on May 1.

Spinneys is expected to commence trading on the Dubai Financial Market on May 9, with the subscription period for professional investors closing on April 30. The subscription period for retail investors closed on Monday.

“This listing will provide us an added strategic flexibility for our ambitious plan going forward,” Sunil Kumar, Spinneys' chief executive, told The National earlier this month.

“It will attract a wider spectrum of shareholders from diversified portfolios and we will have access to the capital market to achieve our ambitious plan.”

Spinneys, which operates 75 premium grocery retail supermarkets under its own brand, as well as the Waitrose and Al Fair brands in the UAE and Oman, plans to expand into Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy, this year.

It intends open its first shop in the kingdom in the first half, with three more to follow by the end of the year, Mr Kumar said.

In the UAE, Spinneys is banking on a “wide range of growth potential”.

It will establish Kitchen by Spinneys that will provide ethnic food options, with the first concept store to open in Dubai Mall in the first half of this year, he said.

Spinneys had a 27 per cent share in its target market in Dubai and controlled 12 per cent of the Dh23 billion target market in the UAE in 2022 amid continued growth in its online sales, its private label brands and its fresh food offerings.

The company's IPO comes amid a listing boom in Dubai and the wider GCC on strong economic growth and increasing demand from investors.

In November 2021, Dubai said it would list 10 state-owned companies and establish a Dh2 billion market maker fund to encourage listings from private companies in sectors such as energy, logistics and retail.

The government aims to expand the size of the emirate's financial market to Dh3 trillion. Six state-owned enterprises have listed on the DFM since 2022.

Companies in Dubai raised Dh34.5 billion through selling shares in the past three years, with aggregate investor demand for those listings reaching more than Dh1 trillion, the Dubai Securities and Exchange Higher Committee said in March.

Last month's IPO by parking operator Parkin, the first in the UAE capital markets this year, raised Dh1.57 billion from investors. Demand for the deal hit a record Dh259 billion.