The FT today headlines Just Eats whets investor appetites as it looks to deliver £900m IPO. Just Eat is ‘the largest online takeaway group in the UK…Its mobile-optimised service allows users to order-in food from restaurants in their area” Sally Davies writes in the article.
The IPO would value Just Eat at £700-£900m or 70-90x 2013 projected earnings. In other words this is a tech-type valuation not a restaurant-type valuation. Indeed the FT article makes reference to its Tech City roots and our tech analyst friend George O’Connor from Panmure Gordon is quoted extensively in the article.
But we would never in a month of Sundays have classified Just Eat as a tech company. If we include companies that make extensive use of – even rely on tech – for its infrastructure or delivery options, then every company from British Airways to Lloyds Bank would be included. HotViews would be dominated by stories from ASOS and Ocado.
That’s not to say we aren’t excited about a major IPO on the LSE. A good investor reception for Just Eat will do no harm to the tech groups we know are contemplating IPOs in 2014 and might well persuade them to go in London rather than NASDAQ