International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Poundland Group plc, the largest single-price value general merchandise retailer in Europe by both sales and number of stores, together with its majority shareholder, Warburg Pincus, on its initial public offering (IPO), London premium listing and simultaneous refinancing

The IPO comprised the sale of shares in Poundland Group plc held by funds managed and advised by leading private equity firm Warburg Pincus, members of senior management and an employee benefit trust. Shares in Poundland Group plc were admitted to listing on the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc at 8am today.

Corporate partners Mark Austin and Adrian Maguire led the Freshfields team advising on the IPO, together with corporate associates Megan Castellano, Jamie Corner and Richard Johnson and corporate partner Sarah Murphy. The firm is acting as US and English counsel and worked closely during the transaction with Poundland’s general counsel, Jinder Jhuti.

Commenting on the transaction, Adrian said, ‘Poundland’s IPO is another good example of a successful partial exit by a financial sponsor in the equity capital markets, and follows on from our work for other financial sponsors in the capital markets, including most recently Permira and Cinven.’

Mark added, ‘This IPO involved a complex and bespoke pre-IPO reorganisation, together with a simultaneous refinancing, which allowed us to leverage our market-leading equity capital markets and global financial investor practices in conjunction with our banking practice.’

Earlier this year, Freshfields advised Warburg Pincus on its acquisition of a majority stake in Source Holdings Limited, a leading European exchange traded product supplier.