Nucleus to float on London’s AIM in July

By Tom Carnegie, 2 Jul 18

Platform provider Nucleus will float on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) later this month, in a deal that is expected to value the business at £150m ($198m, €169m).

On 2 July, the Edinburgh-based platform announced in a London Stock Exchange (LSE) statement it expects the trading of its shares to begin in late July.

The placing will consist of already existing ordinary shares held by certain financial advisers, employees and directors.

This means no new shares will be issued by Nucleus and no proceeds will be receivable by the company.

Sanlam UK

The statement says Sanlam UK “is anticipated to be a major shareholder on admission”.

Further, Sanlam UK and members of the Nucleus’s senior management team “are expected to enter into customary lock-in agreements with respect to their shareholdings in the company for specified periods of time following admission”.

Angus Samuels, chairman of Nucleus, said the business has been built in collaboration with advisers.

“This is an exciting moment for the business and one we could not have achieved without the support of our dedicated team and community of supportive adviser users.

“We are looking forward to life as a listed company and the opportunities that lie ahead of us,” Samuels said.

£14.3bn AUA

The statement says Nucleus has more than 2,200 adviser users across more than 800 financial adviser firms in the UK. Making it responsible for assets under administration of £14.3bn on behalf of more than 90,000 customers.

Earlier reports on 30 May suggested the IPO could value the adviser-owned platform up to £150m and would involve the group raising £25m from the sale of shares.

However, the 2 July announcement did not contain further details on the firm’s estimated valuation.

David Ferguson, chief executive and founder of Nucleus, said: “Nucleus has been an exciting journey so far and we expect this Admission to AIM to mark an important milestone in the business’s maturity and to open up new opportunities for us.

“We remain committed to keeping adviser/client alignment and transparency at the heart of what we do and to continue developing a market-leading platform and best in class customer service to deliver on our objectives.”