Italian lingerie brand La Perla to list in Paris this week

Loss-making Italian lingerie brand La Perla will list in Paris this week in the hope that it can raise its profile and possibly lure other investors as it prepares to buy more luxury brands.

The company, now owned by German investor Lars Windhorst, will not sell any new or existing shares nor raise fresh capital by going public but group chief executive Pascal Perrier told Reuters it planned to buy more luxury brands in the future.

La Perla will float on Euronext's growth market segment, which has looser regulatory requirements, through a direct listing procedure.

It will have a market capitalisation of €473 million (£429 million) - in line with the company valuation made when it raised €23 million in May through a private placement.

"The listing is a first step. The intention is to further invest in the luxury sector by acquiring other luxury brands, not necessarily in the underwear segment," Perrier told Reuters adding no targets have yet been identified.

La Perla's revenues on a like-for-like basis fell 20.7% to €106.2 million in 2018, with an operating loss of €91.3 million from a loss of €179 million a year earlier. The company aims to "break-even in the mid-term," according to a document published on its website.

Windhorst's investment firm Tennor Holding bought struggling La Perla from an Italian entrepreneur in February 2018 and a few months later appointed Perrier, previously a top executive at Burberry's, to run it. At the time of the acquisition, La Perla's assets were valued at €76.6 million.
Shares are expected to start trading on Friday.