(Bloomberg) -- City of London broker Peel Hunt is planning a return to the public markets to support its growth plans, two decades after it was last floated.
The boutique investment bank said it is seeking admission to London's AIM stock market in a statement Tuesday. The move will help the firm “establish a European presence,” invest in “proprietary technology” and “fund future increases in regulatory and working capital,” according to the release.
“The IPO represents an important milestone in our journey and allows us to accelerate our growth plans, building on the strong momentum in our business,” Chief Executive Officer Steven Fine said in the statement.
The firm is expected to be quoted on the Alternative Investment Market on or around Sept. 29. The AIM caters to smaller companies and requires fewer regulations than a full listing.
Peel Hunt, which was established in 1989, provides broking, advisory and trading house services for small- and medium-sized publicly traded companies,. The firm, which had revenue of 197 million pounds ($273 million) in the 12 months to March, said in the statement that it had 157 corporate clients at the end of August and its research is distributed to more than 1,200 institutions.
The firm was briefly quoted on the AIM from February 2000 until Belgian financial group KBC Bank NV bought it at the end of that year. A decade later a consortium of staff and external investors carried out a buyout.
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