Radiator-maker Stelrad warms up plan for £500m flotation

Stelrad, one of the UK’s biggest radiator manufacturers, is warming up plans for a London flotation that could value it at as much as £500m.

Sky News has learned that Stelrad’s owners are working with bankers at Investec on a potential initial public offering (IPO).

A listing is being considered alongside a trade or private equity sale, with Clearwater, a corporate finance adviser, overseeing those discussions.

The exploration of an IPO adds Stelrad to a list of industrial companies examining moves to go public in London in the coming months.

Other float candidates include Marley, a provider of concrete and clay-roofing tiles, while companies such as Virgin Atlantic Airways are also preparing to make their stock market debuts.

Sources said that expectations of a continued recovery in the post-COVID economy were fuelling companies’ desire to go public.

Stelrad was previously part of the same holdings company as the boiler manufacturer Ideal, but that was sold seven years ago.

The radiator company makes products for domestic and commercial customers, and could be worth between £400m and £500m based on a surge in profits, according to analysts.

Stelrad is owned by Bregal Capital, whose investment in the business is managed by EMK Capital, another London-based investment firm.

A spokesman for Bregal’s owner, Cofra, declined to comment.