Irish Stock Exchange: Ryanair And Applegreen Call On Companies To Take Off With IPOready

Eoin Goulding, Integrity 360; Justin Keatinge, Version 1; Neil Sorahan, Ryanair; Joe Barrett, Applegreen at the launch of IPOready

IPOready is open to high-growth ambitious companies

The new IPOready programme, which follows on from a successful initial programme from which 9 IPO candidate companies graduated in 2016, is open to high-growth, ambitious companies which wish to enhance the skills of their executive teams in raising strategic finance, the IPO process, investor relations and scaling.

IPOready is supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund

The programme is supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), which is joining as a programme partner for the first time as a potential investor in successful IPOready companies.

Speaking at the launch in Dublin today, Neil Sorahan, Chief Financial Officer of Ryanair said: “As the largest airline in Europe, our IPO twenty years ago gave Ryanair the financial foundations to grow our traffic from 3m annual customers to the 130m we’ll carry this year, expand our team from 650 to 12,000 across 34 countries, and increase our market capitalisation from €232m to over €20bn today. Ireland is a hub of innovation, talent and enterprise and I would readily encourage any company that shares the same ambitions for growth and development as Ryanair to join the ISE and take off.”

Joe Barrett, Chief Operating Officer of Applegreen, said: “Our IPO successfully raised €90m from international investors and was a significant milestone for Applegreen. Becoming a plc has brought many benefits to Applegreen and we were delighted to share our experience with the IPOready participants last year. The Irish Stock Exchange is an excellent shop window for Irish companies looking to attract the world’s investors – we would strongly encourage ambitious companies to use the stock market as a platform for accelerating their growth.

What does the IPOready programme deliver

• IPOready will provide extensive support over 15 months to prepare successful applicants for the requirements of raising strategic finance, listing on the ISE and attracting investment from domestic and international shareholders.
• It will include mentoring and presentations from corporate finance experts, leaders from ISE-quoted companies, senior ISE executives, investment practitioners, legal, communications and investor relations advisors, and entrepreneurs.
• The programme will also offer opportunities to showcase participant companies to domestic and international investors, including a module meeting investors, advisors and other market participants in New York.
• A major new feature of the 2017 programme is that ISIF, the Irish State’s €8bn sovereign development fund, has joined as a programme partner to provide each participating company with one-to-one interaction with their investment team and to assess potential investments in the companies. The Programme is also being supported by Enterprise Ireland.

Eoin Goulding, Entrepreneur and CEO of Integrity 360, IPOready graduate 2016 and former finalist of EY Entrepreneur of the Year said: “IPOready completely exceeded my expectations. The ISE was an amazing support and the programme enabled us to develop relationships with a network of entrepreneurs and financing experts in Ireland and the US. One of the best aspects of IPOready was getting the insights of founders who brought their companies to the market and their perspectives on how it delivered and continues to deliver to their capital needs.” 

Justin Keatinge, co-founder of Version 1 and Tech Excellence Awards Person of the Year 2015, who completed the IPOready programme in 2016 said: “IPOready was a superb experience for Version 1.  The programme is fantastic for companies interested in raising strategic finance to scale their business. Since completing the programme Version 1 has undertaken a transformational financing deal and has a clear ambition to undertake an IPO in the future. The quality of expertise available to participants on the programme was beyond anything I have experienced elsewhere. I’d highly recommend it.”

Aileen O’Donoghue, ISE Director of Strategy said: "IPOready 2016 was a big success and we are now looking for ambitious, enthusiastic companies to follow in the footsteps of the fantastic companies that graduated from it. IPOready offers a superb toolkit for companies that are looking to raise finance to grow and join the next generation of Irish IPO success stories like Ryanair and Applegreen.” 

 Additional regional launches are taking place this week in Galway on 11 May and Cork on 12 May.

Background

• A company is eligible for IPOready if:

1. It is revenue generating (at least €5 million heading to €10 million)
2. It can demonstrate a track record of growth and future potential
3. It can commit the senior team (Chair/CEO/CFO or other agreed senior executive/s) for the period of 15 months

• A selection committee, comprising representatives from the ISE, Enterprise Ireland and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, will shortlist applicants for inclusion on the programme.
• Candidate companies must submit an application form for IPOready by Friday 16 June 2017. The programme will begin in September 2017 and conclude in December 2018.