The UK’s biggest seller of Rolex watches is working on plans for a stock market listing, which could value the luxury retail group at up to £800m.
On Thursday, Watches of Switzerland, which also owns the Goldsmiths and Mappin & Webb brands, said it was looking to raise cash by selling new shares and would use the proceeds to slash its £260m debt pile. Its American private equity owner Apollo Global Management is also looking to cash in by selling off some of its 90% stake.
Watches of Switzerland’s chief executive, Brian Duffy, said the luxury watch market was an attractive one for investors, with the company’s annual growth running at 18% since 2014. The company, which controls 35% share of the UK luxury watch market, made an underlying profit of nearly £68m on sales of £746m in the year to the end of January.
