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A manufacturer of sports supplements part-owned by JD Sports Fashion is beginning preparations for a £1bn flotation that could help breathe fresh life into London’s moribund market for new share offerings.

Sky News has learnt that Applied Nutrition, which is based in Liverpool, has been interviewing investment bankers in recent weeks about a listing that could take place in the autumn.

City sources said this weekend that Deutsche Numis was among those in contention for a role on the float, which could rank among the largest in the UK this year.

One person close to the situation cautioned that no firm decision had been taken to press ahead with an initial public offering (IPO).

Founded in 2014, Applied Nutrition formulates and makes premium nutrition supplements for professional athletes and gym enthusiasts.

It is the official nutrition partner of a range of English Football League clubs, including League One’s Bolton Wanderers, and the Scottish Premiership side Glasgow Rangers.

Bolton Wanderers' Victor Adeboyejo (left) celebrates scoring with team-mates Dion Charles and Josh Dacres-Cogley. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
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Bolton Wanderers players celebrate scoring a goal last month. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire

The company, which sells its products in 65 countries, also has partnerships with professional boxers, wrestlers and in sports including basketball, cycling and rugby league.

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Its largest brands include ABE – All Black Everything – which is a pre-workout range now stocked by Walmart, the world’s biggest physical retailer and former owner of Asda.

Other products in its portfolio include BodyFuel, a hydration drink.

JD Sports owns just under a third of the shares, while Applied Nutrition’s founder, Thomas Ryder, holds a majority stake.

The remaining shares are understood to be owned by Steven Granite, the company’s chief operating officer.

If it achieves a £1bn valuation by going public, Mr Ryder’s stake would propel him into the ranks of Britain’s richest people.

Applied Nutrition has seen rapid growth in sales and profits in recent years, and has set a £100m sales target for the current financial year.

“Our margins have remained strong despite our rapid growth and our latest results also include the setting-up of our US operation, which is growing at a healthy rate,” Mr Ryder reportedly said late last year.

“Now we’re aiming for £100m turnover in the current financial year, and the first four months are ahead of plan.”

Accounts for the year to the end of July last year disclosed a 74% rise in turnover to £61.2m, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rising by 80% to £18.1m.

It also launched its first overseas subsidiary in Texas to build its presence in the US.

JD Sports Fashion, the £6bn London-listed retailer, has held a stake in Applied Nutrition since 2021.

Peter Cowgill, JD’s former boss, sat on the board of Applied Nutrition but resigned in 2022, according to Companies House records.

Dominic Platt, the current JD finance chief, was appointed as a director of Applied Nutrition this week.

A successful listing for Applied Nutrition would represent a shot in the arm for the London Stock Exchange’s efforts to attract fast-growing companies to float.

Decisions by a growing number of companies to shift their listings to the US – with Paddy Power-owner Flutter Entertainment becoming the latest example this week – have cast a pall over the City.

Last year saw the number of companies going public in London halving, with proceeds raised from initial public offerings (IPOs) falling by 40% year-on-year.

Chip designer ARM Holdings’ float in New York was interpreted as a further sign that London is no longer punching its weight as a financial centre.

The City regulator has responded by announcing plans to reform London’s listing rules.

“The challenging macroeconomic conditions which drove a slowdown in overall M&A market activity in 2023 had a knock-on effect on IPOs, with a relative pause in activity towards the end of the year,” said Scott McCubbin, UK and Ireland IPO leader at EY, the accountancy firm.

“The stability of equity markets hinges on consistent conditions so whilst falling inflation and interest rate reductions may ease in the first half of 2024, the upcoming UK and US elections in the latter half might delay significant IPO activities until 2025.”

Applied Nutrition and JD Sports Fashion both declined to comment.

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Thousands of jobs to go at Bosch in latest blow to German car industry

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Thousands of jobs to go at Bosch in latest blow to German car industry

Bosch will cut up to 5,500 jobs as it struggles with slow electric vehicle sales and competition from Chinese imports.

It is the latest blow to the European car industry after Volkswagen and Ford announced thousands of job cuts in the last month.

Cheaper Chinese-made electric cars have made it trickier for European manufacturers to remain competitive while demand has weakened for the driver assistance and automated driving solutions made by Bosch.

The company said a slower-than-expected transition to electric, software-controlled vehicles was partly behind the cuts, which are being made in the car parts division.

Demand for new cars has fallen overall in Germany as the economy has slowed, with recession only narrowly avoided in recent years.

The final number of job cuts has yet to be agreed with employee representatives. Bosch said they would be carried out in a “socially responsible” way.

About half the job reductions would be at locations in Germany.

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Bosch, the world’s biggest car parts supplier, has already committed to not making layoffs in Germany until 2027 for many employees, and until 2029 for a subsection of its workforce. It said this pact would remain in place.

The job cuts would be made over approximately the next eight years.

The Gerlingen site near Stuttgart will lose some 3,500 jobs by the end of 2027, reducing the workforce developing car software, advanced driver assistance and automated driving technology.

Other losses will be at the Hildesheim site near Hanover, where 750 jobs will go by end the of 2032, and the plant in Schwaebisch Gmund, which will lose about 1,300 roles between 2027 and 2030.

Bosch’s decision follows Volkswagen’s announcement last month it would shut at least three factories in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of staff.

Its remaining German plants are also set to be downsized.

While Germany has been hit hard by cuts, it is not bearing the brunt alone.

Earlier this week, Ford announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs across Europe – including 800 in the UK – as the industry fretted over weak electric vehicle (EV) sales that could see firms fined more for missing government targets.

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Cambridge college puts O2 arena lease up for sale

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Cambridge college puts O2 arena lease up for sale

Cambridge University’s wealthiest college is putting the long-term lease of London’s O2 arena up for sale.

Sky News has learnt that Trinity College has instructed property advisers to begin sounding out prospective investors about a deal.

Trinity, which ranks among Britain’s biggest landowners, acquired the site in 2009 for a reported £24m.

The O2, which shrugged off its ‘white elephant’ status in the aftermath of its disastrous debut in 2000, has since become one of the world’s leading entertainment venues.

Operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, it has played host to a wide array of music, theatrical and sporting events over nearly a quarter of a century.

The opportunity to acquire the 999-year lease is likely to appeal to long-term income investment funds, with real estate funds saying they expected it to fetch tens of millions of pounds.

Trinity College bought the lease from Lend Lease and Quintain, the property companies which had taken control of the Millennium Dome site in 2002 for nothing.

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The college was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 and has amassed a vast property portfolio.

It was unclear on Friday why it had decided to call in advisers at this point to undertake a sale process.

Trinity College Cambridge did not respond to two requests for comment.

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Surprise fall in retail sales a sign economy is slowing

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Surprise fall in retail sales a sign economy is slowing

Budget fears and unseasonably warm weather led to consumers spending far less than expected last month, according to official figures.

In a sign of a slowing economy, retail sales fell a sharp 0.7%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The fall was larger than expected. A drop of 0.3% was forecasted by economists polled by the Reuters news agency.

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Clothing stores were particularly affected, where sales fell by 3.1% over the month as October temperatures remained high, putting shoppers off winter purchases.

Retailers across the board, however, reported consumers held back on spending ahead of the budget, the ONS added.

Just a month earlier, in September, spending rose by 0.1%.

Despite the October fall, the ONS pointed out that the trend is for sales increases on a yearly and three-monthly basis and for them to be lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Retail sales figures are significant as household consumption measured by the data is the largest expenditure across the UK economy.

The data can also help track how consumers feel about their financial position and the economy more broadly.

Another signal of a slowing economy was the latest growth figures which showed a smaller-than-expected GDP (gross domestic product) measurement.

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Business owners worried after budget

Consumer confidence could be bouncing back

Also released on Friday was news of a rise in consumer confidence in the weeks following the budget and the US election.

Market research company GfK’s long-running consumer confidence index “jumped” in November, the company said, as people intended to make Black Friday purchases.

It noted that inflation has yet to be tamed with people still feeling acute cost-of-living pressures.

It will take time for the UK’s new government to deliver on its promise of change, it added.

A quirk in the figures

Economic research firm Pantheon Macro said the dates included in the ONS’s retail sales figures could have distorted the headline figure.

The half-term break, during which spending typically increases, was excluded from the monthly statistics as the cut-off point was 26 October.

With cold weather gripping the UK this week clothing sales are likely to rise as delayed winter clothing purchases are made, Pantheon added.

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