Premier Technical Services Group IPO: Electrical safety firm raises cash for £45m listing

West Yorkshire-based Premier Technical Services Group (PTSG) is set to start trading on the alternative investment market tomorrow after raising new funds and selling existing shares to outside investors in an offer valuing the group at about £45m 

 

The company, which has 200 employees and 10 bases across the UK including one in South Ockendon,  provides niche electrical services such as lightning and surge protection systems, as well as safety testing electrical systems in buildings. 

 

It worked on lightning protection for the renovation of the Victorian Eastern Goods Yard at King’s Cross as well as sites used during the 2012 Olympics in London. 

 

N+1 Singer brought the company to market by placing £3m of existing shares for current shareholders and £5m of new shares, the proceeds of which will be used for acquisitions and growth. 

 

“We are delighted to become the first Yorkshire-based business to launch an initial public offering (IPO) during 2015,” boss Paul Teasdale said. 

 

“Since PTSG was established in 2007, we have grown year-on-year and we have chosen to IPO with a view to accelerating that growth.”

 

The group, founded by Teasdale alongside other directors John Foley, Paul Teasdale, Stephen Shipley and Bob Morton, has made 11 acquisitions worth just over £8m during its brief tenure.

 

“Despite our success to date, we are acutely aware of the need continually to reinvest in the business to promote future growth, something which we are confident the IPO can help us to achieve,” Teasdale said. 

 

PTSG has tempted investors with its customer retention rates of 85 per cent, according to its own figures, and its small share of the main markets it operates in – less than 10 per cent, according to its statistics.  

 

The listing underscores the growing health of new issues on the junior stock market in contrast to the sluggish start of the main market.

 

PTSG is one of 10 companies to list on the junior market this year, with CPP also set to start trading tomorrow after raising £20m from investors.

 

 

1 Fraser, who leads the firm’s business support services team, joined the City in 1982 by working for Phillips & Drew.

 

2 He was appointed director in 1988, by then working for the newly merged UBS Phillips & Drew Securities. He moved on in 1992 to join Guinness Mahon as a director, staying on for nearly a decade during which time the firm was snapped up by Investec.

 

3 He worked for Brewin Dolphin from 2002 onwards and was part of the merger between N+1 Brewin and Singer Capital Markets in 2012.

 

N+1 Singer is nominated adviser and was the sole broker on the deal. Fraser was joined by Richard Lindley and James White from corporate finance while sales was led by Jamie Constable assisted by Rachel Newton and Nicholas Perrin. James Tetley was on research.