WeShop brushes off stock market turbulence with aims to stick to IPO plans

The group – the world’s first shoppable social network that is owned by customers – has said it will stick with plans to go public on the Nasdaq tech-heavy index in New York within 12 months of its July launch.

Chairman Richard Griffiths told the PA news agency the group hopes to launch in the US at the end of the first quarter or start of the second, followed by a flotation in the third.

The firm is aiming to give away up to 90 per cent of its business to shoppers on the platform, offering them 20 per cent of every purchase price as investment shares, which they can cash in after 12 months of ownership.

It wants to take on retail titans such as Amazon with its unique community-owed model.

But volatile stock markets have seen a marked slowdown in initial public offerings (IPOs) in recent months, with equity listings on the Nasdaq down by around 80 per cent this year.

Mr Griffiths said the listing would be dependent on being able to achieve the right valuation, but he pledged to allow customers to cash in, should a flotation be delayed.

He said: “We’re always subject to the vagaries of the market, but I’d be surprised if we don’t attract a decent valuation.

“If we don’t think we’ll achieve the right valuation, then we’ll have back-up plans.”

WeShop plans to offer to buy out shoppers’ shares in cash after the 12-month lock-in if the listing is delayed, although the firm is hoping that customers will choose to hold on to their stock.

“We hope that people will hold on to their shares and take advantage of the growth in the business and their share price,” said Mr Griffiths.

The group – whose backers including Cazoo founder and boss Alex Chesterman, Betfair co-founder Andrew Black and former Formula One driver Nigel Mansell and his son Leo – now has more than 60,000 registered users and has awarded around 300,000 shares to customers since launch.