Currency investment manager Record announced on November 9 plans to list on the London Stock Exchange, with the flotation scheduled to go ahead by the end of the month. The company, set up by former Bank of England economist Neil Record in 1983, was one of the first specialist currency investment management firms. Its decision to list on the London Stock Exchange is believed to be another first by an overlay manager.
Record had $54.7 billion under management at the end of September 2007, $28.5 billion of which was in its relatively new absolute return fund, established in 2003. Revenue for the year ended March 2007 came in at £35.2 million, which generated an operating profit of £19.4 million. For the six months to the end of September, revenue had risen to £42.6 million, with operating profit of £26.2 million. The increase is apparently a reflection of the greater acceptance of FX as an asset class.
The company was planning to sell just over 25% of its ordinary shares, with directors agreeing to a lock-in period to ensure that there is a balance between new shareholders’ interests and their own. The company was said to be looking for a market capitalization of between £400 million and £500 million.