Esure Seeks £1.1bn IPO Valuation at London Stock Exchange

Motor and home insurer Esure is planning a stock market debut by offering up to half of its share capital on the London Stock Exchange.

Esure has set the floating price in a range between 240p to 310p per share, valuing the company founded by British entrepreneur Peter Wood at £1.1bn ($1.7bn, €1.3bn) based on mid-point values. The valuation may go up to £1.3bn at the higher end of the price range.

The valuation would make it eligible for entry into the FTSE 250 index, which is compiled using the 250 biggest UK-listed companies outside the FTSE 100.

The company will raise £50m from the offering, and the proceeds will be used to repay its outstanding debt.

Esure will issue a maximum of 210.2 million shares in the offering, including up to 20.8 million new shares. Wood and private equity firm Tosca Penta will also reduce their stakes in the company, which insures about 5 percent of Britain's motorists.

"We have worked hard for many years to make esure a business that can compete at the highest level with confidence. Today is a milestone reached through the enormous hard work by the Esure board, executive team and staff. We live and breathe insurance at Esure and look forward to bringing that knowledge, commitment and focus to bear as a premium listed company," Wood said in a statement.

Wood, who founded the company as a joint venture with mortgage lender Halifax, will continue to hold the largest stake in it following the listing, which is expected to be completed on 22 March. Unconditional dealings in the shares are slated to start from 27 March.

The IPO follows the listing of fellow insurance group Direct Line, also founded by Wood in 2012 and the house builder Crest Nicholson in February.

This has been the biggest floatation on LSE so far in 2013. Other companies who are in the process of listing on London include British real estate agent Countrywide and cable products maker HellermannTyton.