Charter Court announces intention to float

The group intends to maintain net loan growth of at least 20% per annum in the medium term and is currently targeting a dividend pay-out ratio of at least 15% of the profit for the year.

Charter Court announces intention to float

Charter Court Financial Services, the owner of the Exact and Precise mortgage brands,has announced its intention to proceed with an Initial Public Offering and a premium listing of its shares on the main marker of the London Stock Exchange.

This announcement comes as Charter Court’s recent financial results showed the group generated £1.3bn in the first six months of 2017 which a 10% annual rise.

Alan Cleary (pictured), managing director of Precise Mortgages, said: “We see an exciting future ahead for Charter Court as a specialist lender.

“Since our formation in 2008, the hard work in building this bank and its scalable growth platform has been achieved and the volume of our business already is outstripping some of our listed competitors.

“We are now focussed on the next phase of our development and I believe our IPO and listing will further enhance Charter Court’s profile and support our future growth.”

The group intends to maintain net loan growth of at least 20% per annum in the medium term and is currently targeting a dividend pay-out ratio of at least 15% of the profit for the year.

The IPO will comprise an issue of new shares by the company and the sale of a portion of the company’s existing shares held by its major shareholders and could give Charter Court a market value of about £500m.

It has also been confirmed that Peel Hunt, a broker in the UK mid and small cap space, is acting as co-lead manager on this transaction alongside a number of major banks.

The IPO will comprise an issue of new Shares by the Company and the sale of a portion of the Company’s existing Shares held by its major shareholders, Elliott International L.P. and Elliott Associates L.P., and certain members of the Group’s management, in aggregate to achieve a free float of at least 40 %. The Shares will be offered in the IPO to institutional and other professional investors in the UK and internationally.

The management of the Group is led by Ian Lonergan, chief executive, supported by Sebastien Maloney, chief financial officer and Peter Elcock, chief risk officer, who collectively have more than 75 years of experience in banking and mortgage lending and are supported by a team of nine individuals with an aggregate of more than 225 years of experience in their respective areas of responsibility.

The Company has received a letter of intent from Old Mutual, on behalf of various funds within its group, to subscribe for/acquire £100m of Offer Shares under the Global Offer subject to certain conditions.

Ian Lonergan, chief executive of Charter Court, added: “Since our formation in 2008, the hard work in building this bank and its scalable growth platform has resulted in us being one of the leading specialist mortgage lenders in the markets in which we operate and we have also built a successful online savings bank offering sight and term deposits. We are now focused on the next phase of our development intended to drive sustainable, profitable growth and generate attractive returns whilst maintaining our approach to asset quality.

“We believe this is therefore the right time for this IPO, which will enhance our profile as we look to leverage our specialist skills and capabilities to exploit the opportunities we see for further growth in our chosen specialist mortgage markets.”