Husband-and-wife’s food halls seek Blend with London stock market | Money News

An operator of food halls run by a husband-and-wife team is plotting a flotation on London’s junior stock market that will value it at tens of millions of pounds.

Sky News understands that Blend Family, which has venues in Sheffield, Salford, Birmingham and London, is working with bankers at Cavendish on an initial public offering (IPO).

A public debut for the company’s shares is likely in the next 12 months, although neither a precise timing or valuation have been fixed.

One source said that Blend Family was likely to be valued at less than £50m if it goes public.

The company is led by its husband-and-wife founders, Matt and Nina Bigland, both of whom had prior experience in the hospitality and food retail sector.

Each of its venues has a distinct local identity, and in total almost 100 independent businesses operate across its estate.

Blend Family’s sites – each of which hosts at least a dozen global cuisines – also host pop-up markets and live music nights.

The company’s growth saw it ranked at number 40 in The Sunday Times rankings of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies this year, with sales doubling over the past three years to £12.9m in the year to March.

“We’re always hungry for growth, and we’ve got to drive that,” Mr Bigland recently told the newspaper.

“We want to be the No 1 food hall company and we want to be known as the standard setters, because we don’t know where this market can go.”

While still small, Blend Family’s listing plans represent a welcome addition to the pipeline of potential London stock market flotations amid a protracted drought.

Many of the companies which are hoping to go public, including the RAC and Waterstones’ parent, have pushed back their timetables until 2027 amid choppy market conditions.

The dearth of new companies listing has exacerbated the sense of crisis surrounding the London Stock Exchange’s future amid a glut of takeovers of UK-listed businesses.

Blend Family declined to comment on its potential listing.