UAE pair’s flotation plans lift London listings market

Welcome signs of life in the moribund London listings market emerged on Tuesday as two United Arab Emirates firms said they are pursuing floats.

Finablr, which owns Travelex and Xpress Money, is looking to raise $200 million (£150 million) from a London initial public offering, cash it will use to fund expansion and pay down debts.

Mena Land, which plans to make UAE real estate investments, is also listing, having raised just shy of £1 million from investors ahead of a float on April 11.

Finablr has asked Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Numis and Evercore to push through its float, welcome fees for banks not overburdened with deals of late.

Indian tycoon Bavaguthu Shetty, co-chair of Finablr, bought 51% of UK payments firm Travelex in 2015 as founder Lloyd Dorfman sold down his stake. Shetty, founder of London-listed healthcare firm NMC Health, said: “We have tremendous opportunities ahead of us and we are well placed to capture these, through the significant investments we have made in building capabilities and the strong management team we have put in place.

“I am very excited about what we have built and this is the right time to consider the future growth of Finablr.”