An initial public offering of shares will raise £70m to pump into further land and building investment.
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The firm said it remained on track to deliver its target of selling more than 3,000 units per annum over the medium term, “capitalising on the pressing need for specialised housing for older people in the UK”.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, McCarthy & Stone said it was targeting £2.5 billion worth of land and build over the next four financial years.
Clive Fenton, CEO, said: “This is an incredibly exciting time in the company’s evolution”.
It said that past year 3.5 million people were interested in buying a retirement property, butonly 128,000 purpose-built properties had been built, with demand expected to increase as the population ages.
It is expected that admission will take place in november 2015 and that, following admission, company will be eligible for inclusion in ftse uk indices. One source familiar with the sale plan told Reuters that the company was hoping to have a valuation in excess of £1 billion.
Goldman and the private equity investors TPG, Anchorage Capital and Strategic Value Partners own about 57% of the company, with the remainder held by 26 unidentified smaller investors.
Founded in 1977, it had previously been listed for 22 years before being taken off the market in 2006 in a £1.1billion deal led by an HBOS-led consortium including Scottish retail entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter and the billionaire Reuben brothers.
‘We’ve been approached by a number of interested parties over the past year.
Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies global and Rothschild are advising McCarthy & Stone on the float. The talks didn’t develop.
For the year to 31 August, the company reported a 40% rise in underlying pre-tax profit to £88.4m, with revenues up 25% to £485.7m.
Worldpay shares scored a good premium to their 240p offer price on the first day of trading, ending at 265p, although in morning trade today they had slipped back to 260.5p.
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The firm will use part of the £315 million proceeds to pay down debt.
