Polypipe to return to market with £400m flotation

Doncaster-based Polypipe’s return to the stock market after a 15-year absence would be the latest in a series of Yorkshire IPOs that mark a return to confidence among the region’s firms.

It will come hot on the heels of the successful flotations of Sheffield-based software firm Servelec, Bradford-based double glazing firm Safestyle and Wakefield-based value fashion chain Bonmarche.

Polypipe has appointed Deutsche Bank, Numis Securities and Canaccord Genuity ahead of the float.

The IPO would strengthen the company and bolster its 1,900-strong workforce.

It will also champion British manufacturing at a time when many companies have pulled out of the UK.

Polypipe has seen strong growth lately, boosted by a pick-up in the housing market and Government initiatives such as Help to Buy, which enables people to get on the housing ladder with a five per cent deposit.

It has also seen strong demand for plastic pipes following regulations favouring plastic pipes over copper and concrete.

The group said its plastic pipes are thinner, lighter and stronger than clay or concrete and far less appealing to thieves than copper.

Polypipe has been successful in developing new markets for plastic piping systems including carbon efficient and water management solutions, giving it positive growth at a time when others have struggled.

It designs, develops and manufactures a wide range of plastic pipes, with over 20,000 product lines.

It works in the residential, commercial, civil and infrastructure market sectors.

The company supplied pipes to Olympic venues for the London 2012 Games and supplied almost one million metres of pipe and over two million fittings to the Olympic Park.

It supplied every building on the Olympic Park and its infrastructure and supplied six different systems to the Athletes Village.

Polypipe, which was formed in Doncaster in 1980, launched plastic hot and cold water plumbing and heating systems as a direct alternative to copper in 1998.

In 2000, the firm launched underfloor heating systems for the housebuilder market to provide a sustainable alternative to wall hung radiators.

Polypipe’s owner Caird Capital is a joint venture between Coller Capital, a private investment firm, and Lloyds Bank, which took over the interest from HBOS when Lloyds rescued the Halifax owner at the height of the banking crisis.

Polypipe was bought by HBOS in 2007 from a US private equity group.

It will be the latest in a number of sales by Caird which has sold off stakes in cinema chain Vue Entertainment and David Lloyd Leisure, the health and fitness clubs operator.