UK-based chocolate manufacturer Hotel Chocolat Group is planning a floatation to raise funds for its expansion plan.
The founders of the business Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris are planning to raise £50m through placement in the London Stock Exchange.
About £50m will be raised valuing the company at around £150m and out of the total funds raised, £40m will be split between them.
They plan to invest the remaining £10m in expanding Hotel Chocolat's shop estate and in re-launching the ecommerce website.
Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris will continue to hold majority shares of approximately two-thirds following the floatation.
The luxury chocolatier is planning to expand its operations in the UK, along with improving its ecommerce business, and developing its manufacturing unit in Oxfordshire.
According to Angus Thirlwell, the company is planning a limited international expansion, while taking a cautious approach to strengthening imports.
Hotel Chocolat owns three stores and a café in Denmark, which will serve as pilot runs for further international rollouts.
Angus Thirlwell said: "We're learning so many things - how to adapt to a different culture, logistics, and physical versus online presence. We'll need a few more years to hone that."
In 2010, the company had issued 'chocolate bonds' to customers and private retail investors when it needed capital to expand. The interest was paid in chocolate instead of cash.
In a second issue of chocolate bonds, the company was able to raise £7m in development capital from the two schemes.
Hotel Chocolat CEO Angus Thirlwell said: "Hotel Chocolat is built on our core values of authenticity, originality and ethical trading.
"We are very excited at the prospect of listing as it is the next logical step in our growth plans and will enable us to accelerate the many initiatives that we have in place, in particular additional investment in our British chocolate manufacturing, in new stores and in our digital offering."
Image: Hotel Chocolat plans floatation to expand presence. Photo: Courtesy of Hotel Chocolat.
