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The owner of Superdrug is eyeing up a blockbuster London float as part of a $30bn dual listing later this year.
AS Watson, which owns the health and beauty retailer, plans to raise about $2bn by listing its shares in both London and Hong Kong before the end of 2026.
The Superdrug owner would join a number of high street firms in defying economic uncertainty and fragile consumer confidence by making their debut on the London Stock Exchange.
AS Watson’s plans for a dual listing, first reported by the Financial Times, are being advised by Goldman Sachs, UBS and Latham & Watkins.
People close to the plans told the FT that the primary location for the float is still being debated and that the listing is still subject to market conditions.
Superdrug expands despite tough conditions
Superdrug saw revenue climb seven per cent to £1.6bn in the year to December 2024, according to its most recent accounts.
The firm’s profit before tax jumped 23 per cent to £137m as it created more than 600 new jobs.
This is despite the high street retailer warning against tough trading conditions and declining consumer confidence.
“2024 was another tough year for the retail sector and although inflation reduced throughout the year the legacy impact of higher prices, and sustained higher interest rates, contributed to squeezing consumers’ disposable income,” the firm said.
Superdrug was founded by the Goldstein brothers in 1964 and its first store opened in Putney in April 1966.
Hong Kong-based AS Watson owns more than 17,000 stores across 12 retail brands in 31 different markets and employs 140,000 people across the world.
The firm posted annual revenues of HK$209bn (£19.9bn) in its most recent accounts.
High street firms line up for floats
AS Watson is owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings, which itself is reportedly considering listing its European telecoms business.
CK Hutchison owns Greene King, the UK pub chain which recently announced the sale of 150 pubs and offloaded its Old Speckled Hen beer to Spanish brewer Estrella Damm.
Earlier this month, the Hong Kong firm sold its 49 per cent stake in UK telecoms firm Three, giving Vodafone complete control of the recently established VodafoneThree conglomerate.
Were Superdrug’s owner to list its shares in London, the retailer would join a string of high street giants – worth as much as £20bn – who are eyeing up floats in the UK.
Pharmacy firm Boots and bookselling titan Waterstones are both said to be considering listing in London, while Associated British Foods announced last month it will spin off clothes giant Primark, which it hopes will be listed separately on the FTSE 100.
The London markets saw a late flurry of IPOs at the back end of 2025, ending a two year-long drought, with the likes of British bank Shawbrook and tinned food giant Princes among new entrants.
But hopes of a revival gathering pace into 2026 were torpedoed by the outbreak of war in Iran, with concerns over the economic fallout leaving IPO plans on ice – though signs the war could be drawing to a close have thawed investor sentiment.
