Centaur Comms in £160m flotation

INVESTMENT bank Numis has been appointed to lead the flotation of Centaur Communications, publisher of Money Marketing and The Lawyer magazines.

The deal is likely to lead to big windfalls for Centaur's directors, led by Graham Sherren, who together with a handful of City institutions, own most of the shares.

The deal should generate fees worth £5 million for Numis, which is believed to be keen on an 'accelerated initial public offering' with the bank buying the business for about £160 million and immediately floating it on the Alternative Investment Market.

Centaur has 600 staff and is one of the country's largest independent publishing and information companies. It has 25 magazine titles, including New Media Age and Home Building and Renovating, and ten directories. Last year, it also organised 75 conferences and 34 exhibitions, including the Hali Antique Carpet Fair in London and The Employee Benefits Shows in Leeds.