The founder of an online pensions company could be worth up to £140m on paper after the company announced it would list on the London Stock Exchange with a value of up to £384m.
Romi Savova, the chief executive of PensionBee, set up the consolidation business in 2014 after having problems transferring her old workplace pension to a new provider. The company, which helps people track down their old plans and consolidate them, has more than 81,000 customers who have moved pension assets to, or paid into, one of its investment plans.
Despite having worked in banking, the 35-year-old recently said in an interview that the experience had shown her “just how difficult it is if you’re just a normal human being who wants to do something sensible with their money”.
Customers who use PensionBee can sign up and do transactions online, and check their balance on an app, but the company also has customer account managers who can help with any questions. In the year to the end of March, the value of assets it administered grew by 123% to £1.65bn, and it said the flotation would allow it to grow its business further.
Savova holds 80m shares. Her stake in the business will fall from 44.43% to 36.16% at the time of the listing.
The price range values the company at between £346m and £384m and her stake at £124m to £140m. PensionBee said it intended to raise £55m of which some would be used to fund future investment in its advertising and marketing initiatives and technology.
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Savova and the other founders and executive directors have agreed not to sell shares for two years after the initial public offering (IPO), while other senior management are locked in for 18 months.
The company said so far more than 12,000 people had signed up to be part of the flotation. Savova said an IPO had always been “part of PensionBee’s corporate trajectory”.
She added: “The flotation will further our vision to help millions of consumers look forward to a happy retirement through our technology platform and dedicated customer service offering that make pensions simple. We’re delighted that so many of our customers wish to join us as shareholders and look forward to welcoming all of our new investors as important stakeholders in our business.”
