Compare the Market spruces itself up for £2bn stock market float

The company, most famous for its meerkat-based adverts, hopes for a £2bn valuation - comparethemarket.com

The insurance group behind price comparison website Compare the Market is gearing up to make its stock market debut as soon as this autumn.

BGL Group is getting its house in ­order so that it could be in a position to float the business shortly after its ­full-year results expected in September, sources close to the talks have said.

The group hired advisers at Rothschild to sound out investors about a possible float early last year but has kept quiet about the exact timeline, which could yet be pushed back.

Nicole Kidman is among the famous humans associated with the brand and its adverts Credit: comparethemarket.com/PA

If BGL decides to delay, it will look to list after its next set of numbers are published in 2018, a source said.

Best known for its Compare the Market television advertisements centred round a family of meerkats, the firm has been preparing to float since last year with a valuation of around £2bn.

Matthew Donaldson, chief executive, said earlier this year that the group was in the “unusual and luxurious” ­position of not having to rush ahead with a float, but admitted that he was eyeing up a listing in the second half.