SimplyBiz profit hit by £3.6m AIM flotation

The April initial public offering cost the group £3.6m, raising £30m for the company in the process.

SimplyBiz profit hit by £3.6m AIM flotation

SimplyBiz Group's operating profit fell to £1.2m in the first half of 2018, down from £3.9m in the first half of 2016 owing to the cost of floating on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

The April initial public offering cost the group £3.6m but raised £30m for the company in the process.

When asked about the £3.6m cost of floating Neil Stevens, operations director at SimplyBiz group, said the IPO will develop good shareholder value and reduces a previous debt in the business.

He added: “We don’t incur these costs lightly.

“Were we to raise capital again it would be much more efficient.”

With the flotation cost taken out of the picture SimplyBiz recorded pre-tax profit of £4.5m.

Now SimplyBiz has increased its capital reserves Stevens was bullish about the second half of 2018.

He added: “We are able to come out confidently going forward. In addition to our good organic growth we are pursuing acquisitions that will accelerate growth.

“The marketplace is very fragmented we are always looking to buy more customer sets and services that are complementary to our existing customer base

“Our capital position is going to put us in a good spot.”

SimplyBiz Group bought chartered surveying business Landmark in January.

Owing to GDPR the group is looking to benefit from resale agreements on office client management and advice process software.

Meanwhile with MiFID II SimplyBiz will launch a data service where providers can obtain analysis that helps them demonstrate their compliance.