Food gjant Princes Group has begun its London stock market float with a valuation of £1.16bn.
The nearly 150 year old company, renowned for its Princes Tuna and Napolina brands, will be valued at the lower end of a target range set last week, between £1.16bn and £1.24bn .
Princes announced that conditional dealings commencing on Friday would price shares in the business at 475p per share.
The firm, whose headquarters are located in Liverpool's iconic Liver Building, was acquired last year by Italian food company Newlat, which will maintain an investment in the business.
This floatation marks the latest surge of activity for the London Stock Exchange following a recent lack of listings.
This comes just a day after Shawbrook Group, a small business lender, launched its initial public offering (IPO) with a valuation of £1.92bn, subsequently seeing its shares rise by approximately 8% on its first trading day.
In addition, The Beauty Tech Group – the Cheshire-based owner of beauty gadget brands CurrentBody, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser – went public earlier this month with a valuation of around £300m.
Princes, which also owns Crisp N Dry and licenses brands such as Branston, stated it will raise roughly £400m through its listing.
The food company said this capital boost will aid the firm's further growth via acquisition deals.
Simon Harrison, chief executive of Princes Group, said: "Today marks a defining moment in Princes Group's journey as we proudly begin our chapter as a publicly listed company.
"Our listing on the London Stock Exchange reflects not only our heritage but also our ambition for future growth.
"As we look ahead, we remain focused on expanding our international footprint, deepening our category leadership, and delivering sustainable, long-term value for all our stakeholders."
Peter Kyle, Business and Trade Secretary, said: "The London Stock Exchange is a renowned global trading hub and the Princes Group is a great British success story.
"The firm's decision to list is not only a huge vote of confidence in this Government's reforms to capital markets but in British business."
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