Saga to raise £550m from flotation

Over-50s insurance broker and travel provider Saga has confirmed its intention to raise £550m in an initial public offering (IPO).

The float is expected before the end of May and would give the group an enterprise value of £3bn, according to the Financial Times.

The group, which has more than 2.1 million customers, reported underlying operating profit of £222m for the year ended in January on £1.2bn in revenues, and will use the proceeds of the listing to reduce its net debt to £700m from £1.25bn.

In connection with the IPO, the company also announced the appointment of Philip Green, Ray King, Orna Ni-Chionna and Gareth Williams as independent non-executive directors to complement the board.

Executive chairman Andrew Goodsell said: “What began 60 years ago in a small hotel in Folkestone is today one of Britain’s most trusted and respected companies. This is in huge part due to the hard work and dedication of our employees.

“Our customers are at the heart of our brand and I am delighted that they will have an opportunity to become shareholders in the company and to be part of the next stage of our journey.”

Lance Batchelor, the former Domino’s Pizza chief executive who joined Saga as chief executive last month, said it was a “classic British success story” and a “business like few others”.