easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou announced plans to float the budget hotel chain easyHotel on Aim next week but it has raised just half of the £60m it had hoped to gain.
The company is owned by easyGroup Holdings and has priced its initial public offering (IPO) at
80p, but has raised £30 million instead of the £50+ million anticipated. Market conditions following the recent run of IPOs which have performed poorly post-float are thought to be responsible for lower demand.
Sir Stelios is positive about the business, however, expecting it to do well as it grows and builds business from budget conscious travellers.
Chief executive Simon Champion will be responsible for running the business, though Stelios expects to be a significant, long-term shareholder and holds over 55% of shares at present.
The hotel group has twenty hotels in London, across Europe, and in Dubai and Johannesburg. It will use the proceeds from the float to expand into major European ‘gateway’ cities.