Spinneys Plans IPO on Dubai Financial Market

Spinneys 1961 Holding, an operator of premium grocery retail supermarkets under the Spinneys, Waitrose and Al Fair brands, on Tuesday announced its intention to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) and to list its ordinary shares for trading on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in Dubai.

The company will issue 900,000,000 shares each, or 25% of its issued shared capital, with a nominal value of AED0.01 in the offering, representing 25% of the company’s total issued share capital, Spinneys said.

All shares to be offered are existing shares held by Al Seer Group as the selling shareholder who reserves the right to amend the size of the offering at any time prior to the end of the subscription period at its sole discretion, subject to applicable laws and the approval of the Securities & Commodities Authority (SCA), it said.

The Offering will be made available to the UAE retail investors and other investors as part of the UAE Retail Offering or First Tranche as well as to Professional Investors outside the US, including the UAE, as part of the Qualified Investor Offering or Second Tranche.

The subscription period will open on April 23 and end on April 29 for UAE Retail Investors and on April 30 for Professional Investors and the offer price will be determined through a book building process. Admission of shares to trading on DFM is expected to take place in May 2024.

Capital Structure

The company’s share capital, as at the date of the listing, has been set at $9.86 million divided into 3,600,000,000 shares paid-in-full, with the nominal value of each Share being AED0.01.

Following the offering, and starting from the fiscal year 2024, the company intends to pay dividends on a semi-annual basis in April and October of each year, with the first payment targeted for October 2024, in respect of H1 of 2024.

For the fiscal year 2024 and the years thereafter, the company will endeavour to maintain a dividend pay-out ratio of 70% of annual distributable profits, after tax.

Opportunity for Investors

Ali Saeed Juma Al Bwardy, Founder and Chairman of Spinneys, said that they were proud to take another significant step in their journey. Spinneys is a long-standing brand with a strong heritage in the UAE and a commitment to quality, evolving over the decades to become one of the country’s leading premium fresh-focused food retailers.

“Ours is a brand with huge ambition, positioned to flourish in the GCC’s most attractive and fast-growing markets. Our IPO represents an opportunity for investors to be part of our next stage of growth and we are excited to embark on a new chapter, bringing our fresh opportunity to a wider shareholder base,” Bwardy added.

Premium Brand

Spinneys CEO Sunil Kumar said that over the years, they have expanded Spinneys business to operate one of the leading premium brands across 75 locations in the UAE and Oman, focused on high-quality fresh food and exceptional customer service.

Spinneys has a presence in some of the most vibrant, fast-growing and resilient countries in the region and the company aims to continue to capitalise on supportive macroeconomic tailwinds, he said.

He explained that Spinneys has a proven track record for growth, driven by the expansion of our store network, increasing online penetration, a growing private label offering, and a vertically integrated supply chain, resulting in robust financial performance with a track record of like-for-like growth and strong margins.

“We have much to be excited about this year as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Spinneys brand in the region, with plans to enter the thriving Saudi market, where we see immense potential for our business. As our group grows, our purpose remains unchanged: to nourish and inspire our communities to live better lives, day-by-day,” he added.