Robin Totterman, CEO, Inspecs Group.
BATH, England—Inspecs Group raised a total of €23.5 million in the eyewear company's initial public offering yesterday on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. The Bath-based firm, which manufactures and distributes eyewear products to retail partners around the world, said it raised the amount for the company through a placing of 12.1 million shares at 195 pence each. Peel Hunt, the adviser, broker and sole bookrunner on the IPO, placed 36.2 million existing shares on behalf of selling shareholders at the same price, raising another €70.5 million in gross proceeds. Following admission to the exchange, Inspecs now has a market capitalization of €138.0 million, the company announced. The company is trading under the ticker 'SPEC' and the ISIN: GB00BK6JPP03.

"Our admission to AIM represents a landmark moment for Inspecs," stated Robin Totterman, chief executive. "It will enable the business to grow and develop, both organically and through accretive acquisitions, as we build our market share in the globally expanding eyewear market. We are delighted to have received a positive reception from a high quality set of investors, all of whom recognise the strong track record, differentiated proposition and competitive strengths of the business, being one of only a few companies providing a one-stop-shop to global retail chains."

He added, "I would like to thank all of our people, who have been instrumental in building such a successful business and welcome our new shareholders to the register."

The Inspecs Group was founded in 1988. It produces a broad range of frames, covering optical, sunglasses and safety, which are either branded via licence or under the Group’s own proprietary brands, or “OEM” (including private label on behalf of retail customers and unbranded). Among the company's brands are Hype, Superdry, Farah, Radley, Nascar, O’Neill, CAT, Savile Row and Santana. Inspecs customers include global optical and non-optical retailers, global distributors and independent opticians, with its distribution network covering over 80 countries and reaching approximately 30,000 points of sale. In FY18, the Group said that it generated 22.8 percent of its revenue in the U.K. and 77.2 percent internationally.

In the first half of 2019, Inspecs said its revenues climbed 14 percent year-on-year to £30.4 million, and that it expects to publish its full year results by June 30, under AIM rules. In 2018, the company reported $57.3 million of revenues, a 17 percent increase from 2017.

Today Inspecs has operations across the globe: with offices in the U.K., Portugal, Scandinavia, the U.,S and China (Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen), and manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, China, London and more recently, Italy. The Group’s growth strategy going forward is to continue to grow organically, to undertake further acquisitions (and drive value through leveraging the Group’s internal capabilities), and to extend the Group’s manufacturing capacity.