Waterstones to book chairman as London listing gains pace Retail Bookselling titan Waterstones is on the hunt for a chairman as it picks up the pace on its rumoured London listing. Elliott Management, the activist equity firm which owns Waterstones, has hired headhunters at Russell Reynolds Associates to draw up a list of candidates to join the bookseller’s board. This is the latest signal that [...]
Waterstones books Rothschild as IPO plans ramp up Markets The owner of Waterstones is preparing to appoint Rothschild to advise its multibillion-pound flotation later this year, offering the clearest sign yet that London could turn the page on a dire run of form if it edges out New York for the listing. Elliott Management, which owns Waterstones and its US sister Barnes & Noble, [...]
The London IPOs to look out for in 2026 Markets The year 2025 will not, it is safe to say, go down in history as a blockbuster one for London IPOs. Over its first nine months, the UK capital’s bourse was even languishing below its of Omani and Mexican counterparts when it came to capital raised at market debuts. We can take some consolation from [...]
Elliott turns the page on London’s IPO drought with Waterstones listing plan December 18, 2025 Elliott Management is preparing a multibillion-pound flotation of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, with a listing expected next year and London edging out New York as the preferred venue. The US hedge fund has reportedly begun sounding out advisers ahead of a potential IPO, with banks likely to be appointed in early 2026. While no [...]
Mark Kleinman: Reeves heads outside in hunt for new banking watchdog October 9, 2025 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column Reeves heads outside in hunt for new banking watchdog File it under ‘Rachel Reeves’s headaches’. A search for Britain’s top banking regulator is about to get underway, and the word in Whitehall is that the chancellor [...]
Waterstones: Return to the office helps profit almost quadruple January 21, 2025 The return of employees to offices in major UK city centres helped profit almost quadruple at Waterstones during its latest financial year. The bookseller cited the trend of the return to work as a key factor in its pre-tax profit surging from £11.2m to £42.9m in the 12 months to 27 April, 2024. In newly-filed [...]
Waterstones plans dozens more UK stores as it mulls possible London or US IPO January 6, 2025 Waterstones boss James Daunt has said he plans to open dozens more bookshops this year in the UK, along with considering a potential flotation in London or New York. He told the Financial Times it would be “logical” to look at an initial public offering of a consolidated combination of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble [...]