Time Out Plots Another Kind Of London Listing

Time Out, the magazine publisher which has transformed itself into an international digital media group, is plotting a listing on the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) that will value it at more than £200m.

Sky News has learnt that Oakley Capital, Time Out's controlling shareholder since 2011, is drawing up plans for a flotation on London's junior AIM market in June.

The move will underline Time Out's ambitions as it continues to expand beyond its traditional business as a consumer listings magazine into a physical brand occupying food markets in major cities and a prominent mobile e-commerce platform.

The company is expected to seek to raise approximately £80m by selling new shares to external investors, City sources said on Friday, with the flotation being handled by Liberum, an investment bank.

The timing of the flotation is intriguing because it will coincide with the build-up to the UK referendum on membership of the European Union.

Lord Rose, the former chairman of Marks & Spencer (Other OTC: MAKSF - news) and chairman of Britain Stronger in Europe, is expected to be on the board of Time Out Group, having previously been appointed as a director of its food markets unit.

Other non-executives will include Christine Petersen, a former chief marketing officer of the online travel business TripAdvisor (NasdaqGS: TRIP - news) , and Tony Elliott, Time Out's founder.

The company's chief executive, Julio Bruno, is also a former TripAdvisor executive, while Peter Dubens, the Oakley Capital founder, will be Time Out's chairman when it goes public.

Oakley initially invested in Time Out in 2011 when it acquired the London magazine, then united the underlying intellectual property behind the brand by subsequently acquiring its global and US interests.

Under Oakley's ownership, the company has seen digital activities rise from 10% to almost half of its revenues.

Time Out is presently loss-making and is expected to be for several more years because of the investment required to expand its food markets business, its marketing activity and its range of digital products, according to insiders.

City investors are nevertheless said to have expressed significant interest in acquiring shares in a listed Time Out business, with the brand's global monthly reach now standing at 111m people.

Oakley's ownership of the brand has underlined the challenges facing the owners of media and content brands, but has been rewarded for its decision to scrap the listings magazine‎'s cover-price in Chicago, London and New York, resulting in a sharp rise in its circulation.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) continues to charge for the magazine in other parts of the world.

Time Out is keen to expand its food market business from the current site in Lisbon, which has become Portugal's leading visitor attraction, with 65,000 consumers visiting every week.

Sites in London, New York and Berlin have all been identified by the media company's executives, with advanced discussions taking place about their locations and opening timetables.

Roughly one-quarter of the proceeds of the share sale are likely to be used to repay debt, with the remainder invested in growing the business, according to a source.

Spokesmen for Time Out Group and Oakley Capital declined to comment on Friday.