Boohoo Dresses Up For Success With IPO Plans

UPDATE: See our review of the Boohoo.com business, out on Wednesday November 13


The founders of Boohoo.com look like they're dressing up the online fashion phenomenon to woo future investors.

Reports over the weekend suggest the retailer is mulling a listing on the London Stock Exchange to free up cash - and, presumably, pay the two founders, Mahmud Kamani and Carol Cane, some sort of dividend. 

The report in the Independent on Sunday followed initial rumours we reported in June that the firm was looking at strategic options that include a sale of the business and has hired private equity firm Zeus to do so. Zeus is also understood to be an investor in Boohoo.

Any listing is likely to be on the Aim market as its larger rival Asos did previously and following the successful and smooth listing of bricks and mortar off-license Bargain Booze, listed as Conviviality Retail last month. 

Boohoo Partywear

Asos is still listed on Aim but with a valuation of £4 billion has long since outgrown the list and is understood to be laying down plans to shift to the main market - and which probably means it is destined for the FTSE 100.

Manchester-based Boohoo is relatively small by comparison but probably the second biggest independently-owned pureplay, single-destination fashion retailer (we hope that definition is worded well enough to exclude Shop Direct's brands but we are happy to be corrected on other sites we have missed!).

Turnover in the 12 months to 29 February 2012 increased 18.5 per cent to £29 million (the most recently available accounts for Boohoo - registered as Wasabi Frog Limited at Companies House). Pre-tax profit increased 79 per cent to £248,790.

The accounts also say the number of employees doubled in the year to 314. Last week the company said it now has 600 and plans to add another 50 in the coming months.