TWO IRISH entrepreneurs are in line for a €20m (£14.37m) windfall after floating their petrol forecourt business on the London stock exchange.

Bob Etchingham and Joe Barrett, who founded Irish petrol station group Applegreen 23 years ago, will net €15m and €5m respectively from the listing, according to regulatory documents filed yesterday.

Both executives will retain a 70 per cent stake in the company after the flotation on the junior stock market, which starts trading on Friday.

A further €70m has been raised from investors, which will be used to help propel growth at the group.

The €90m (£66m) total is the biggest this year on the alternative investment market, beating the £64m raised by US group Verseon in April, according to Dealogic figures.

The initial public offering values Applegreen at about €300m.

Axa Framlington has taken a 6.7 per cent stake in the firm, while Fidelity owns 3.2 per cent. The company also has a dual listing in Dublin.

Etchingham, Applegreen’s current chief executive, is a former Esso executive who founded the company while Barrett, who worked in Tesco’s retail business, joined the firm in 1993.

The company has 150 sites scattered across the UK and Ireland with two more in the US.

Shore Capital and Goodbody ran the books on the deal.

BEHIND THE DEAL
MALACHY MCENTYRE – SHORE CAPITAL

1 McEntrye was appointed head of sales at Shore Capital five years ago. He has been at the company for 11 years.

2 He was previously a portfolio manager at Tilney Investment Management managing Irish equities. Before that he was an equity trader at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin.

3 McEntyre is based in Shore Capital’s office in Liverpool and travels to work in London about once a week.

Also advising…
Shore Capital’s corporate finance directors Patrick Castle and Stephane Auton also worked on the deal, as did Goodbody Stockbrokers.

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