Franchise Brands, the Macclesfield-based £300m company, is contemplating a transition from the junior market AIM to the main market of the London Stock Exchange, following the appointment of a new CEO.
The firm, which has been listed on AIM since 2016, stated today that due to the "scale and growth ambitions" of the company, it was initiating the first step towards a main LSE listing, although emphasised that the plan was still in its "early stage", as reported by .
Despite its aspirations, the franchisor's £300m size ranks it as only the 55th largest company on AIM, significantly smaller than other market players such as the £3.1bn Jet2.
AIM has recently been subject to speculation that Chancellor Rachel Reeves will target it in this month's Budget, potentially imposing inheritance tax on stocks on the junior market, which could cause share prices to plummet by up to 25 per cent.
Franchise Brands' stock price has surged by 278 per cent since it listed eight years ago, although little of that growth has occurred over the past three years. The group has more than doubled its revenue over the last year, following the acquisition of Pirtek Europe for £210.8m last April.
The business also achieved a similar scale increase the previous year with the purchase of Filta in March 2022. Today, Peter Molloy, chief of the water and waste services division, was promoted to group head at Franchise Brands.
Executive chair Stephen Hemsley stated: "The group has reached a scale where the timing is right for the appointment of a group CEO at board level, to separate my responsibilities and provide greater focus on the strategic and commercial development of the business to support our ambitious growth plans,"
Molloy further added: "Our principal franchise brands have significant growth potential through increasing their small shares of large, fragmented markets, expanding their range of services and geographical penetration, and cross-selling to our large customer base."
