Supermarket chain Spinneys’ shares surge above 11% on trading debut

Shares of supermarket chain Spinneys’ franchisee in the UAE and Oman (Spinneys 1961 Holding) soared on its trading debut on Thursday, after the company raised $375m (Dhs1.38bn) from its initial public offering (IPO) that attracted orders worth $19bn.

Spinneys 1961 Holding’s shares started trading at Dhs1.70, against its IPO price of Dhs1.53, the top end of the company’s planned price range, rising as much as 11 per cent before dropping slightly to Dhs1.59 as at 12.15 pm GST.

The company’s IPO attracted two cornerstone investors in Emirates International Investment Company (EIIC), the strategic investment arm of Abu Dhabi-based National Holding, and Franklin Templeton.

Cornerstone investors committed to taking up an aggregate of $75m in the offering.

The UAE has seen a wave of listings since late 2021, but the vast majority have been state-owned companies. Of the 24 companies that have listed in the country since the start of 2021, only six – including Spinneys – have been privately owned, according to the latest data from Bloomberg.

The last family-owned company to go public in the UAE was money exchange firm Al Ansari Financial Services, which raised $210m in 2023.

Spinneys, which is owned by the Al Bwardy family, operates 75 premium grocery retail supermarkets under the ‘Spinneys’, ‘Waitrose’ and ‘Al Fair’ brands in Oman and the UAE, where it plans to open new stores this year. It also plans to expand into Saudi Arabia this year and open stores in Riyadh and Jeddah.

Emirates NBD Capital, Bank of America and HSBC Holdings were joint global coordinators on the deal, while EFG Hermes was a joint bookrunner. Rothschild & Co. was the independent financial adviser.

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