Superdrug owner plots London Stock Exchange IPO

It could be a big year for Superdrug and The Perfume Shop owner AS Watson, as well as for the London Stock Exchange, with news that Watson’s owner is planning a London IPO.

It’s been reported that bankers have already been appointed for the share listing by the Hong Kong-based group that’s owned by CK Hutchison holdings Ltd.

Onwed in its turn by billionaire Li Ka-shing, it’s said that it would actually be a dual listing, happening in Hong Kong as well as London, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified in an initial report by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg News had previously flagged a potential IPO that could raise as much as $2 billion. But the sources said the timing and size of the IPO haven’t yet been decided. And the entities concerned haven’t commented so far.

Superdrug and The Perfume Shop are two of the major beauty retailers in the UK, but the wider business operates in 31 markets with 17,000+ stores. Other chains include Germany’s Rossmann and Watsons that operates across Asia.

Superdrug’s sales last year added up to £1.6 billion last year, which means it’s number two in the UK but still quite a long way behind the giant Boots business, although it’s growing strongly.

If its parent listed on the LSE, it would be a big boost for London as a financial centre. It has lost its crown as the key location for listings in recent years and seems to have lost out on what would have been an undeniably controversial listing for Shein in recent periods. 

AS Watson would be far more palatable and its arrival on the LSE would set the seal on London’s fightback, especially after last year’s surge in valuations for company’s on its elite FTSE 100 index.