Youth publisher LadBible targets £360m valuation in London flotation

LadBible Group, the youth-focused digital publisher, is to target a valuation of £360m in one of the London stock market’s biggest media industry flotations this year.

Sky News understands that Solly Solomou, the co-founder of LBG Media, is to sell a chunk of his stake, which will be valued at about £200m if the initial public offering (IPO) is successful.

LadBible, which was founded by Mr Solomou and Arian Kalantari in 2012, has become one of Britain’s most prominent digital content publishers aimed at young adults.

The business was established during a period of explosive growth in online media consumption, and has managed to carve out a loyal international following which now generates more than 28bn content views globally every year.

Its surging audience has come at a time when traditional ‘lads’ magazine’ publishers have struggled to compete online, with the likes of FHM, Loaded and Zoo all either ceasing their print editions or closing altogether.

The British-based company owns a portfolio of online titles including LADbible, SPORTbible, Tyla, GAMINGbible and UNILAD.

Surprisingly, 40% of its audience is female.

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City sources said that LBG Media was likely to raise £30m from the sale of new shares, with £80m of shares being sold by existing investors including Mr Solomou.

As part of its preparations for going public, it has recruited Carol Kane, the co-founder of the online fashion site Boohoo, to its board, according to a draft Schedule One published on Wednesday.

Ms Kane has become a non-executive director of LBG Media after her Boohoo colleague and major LadBible shareholder, Mahmud Kamani, stepped down from the media company’s board.

LadBible competes with the likes of Vice Media, the US-based publisher which has drawn investment from companies such as Walt Disney and WPP Group.

The British publisher boasts that its readership amounts to 10bn more content views than Vice and MailOnline – owned by the Daily Mail’s publisher – combined.

The company’s huge social media following has led to creative success at the Cannes Advertising Festival for Trash Isles, its campaign to reduce plastic waste.

In 2018, it made its most significant acquisition when it bought UniLad, a competitor which had run into financial difficulties.

LadBible employs 360 people at offices in London, Manchester, Dublin, Melbourne and Sydney.

Revenues are said to have grown at a compound annual growth rate of over 35% in the four years to December 2020, reaching about £30m in the last calendar year.

LadBible’s commercial clients include the NHS, Disney+, Ford, Microsoft, Netflix and Unilever.

Sky News revealed in July that LadBible was exploring a London listing.

Zeus Capital is advising on the deal.

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