Luxury cinema chain Everyman is set to ditch its London listing for a private markets platform, after facing heavy pressure from key shareholders.
The London-headquartered group is set to join Asset Match’s Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (Pisces) on 12 November, subject to shareholder approval on 30 October.
The move would make Everyman the first company to cancel its admission to Aim and opt to join a Pisces market.
The group said it intends to enable secondary trading on the platform, hosting periodic auctions where investors can buy or sell, ceasing the continuous trading that occurred on AIM.
Iain Baillie, founder and executive chair of Asset Match, said: “It represents a significant moment for Pisces, demonstrating how the framework can support established consumer brands seeking a more flexible alternative to a traditional public listing.”
The group’s liquidity challenge
Hannah Woodley, commercial director of Asset Match, also wrote on LinkedIn that Everyman’s decision reflected the growing difficulty smaller companies face in raising money or trading shares on the stock market.
However, the cinema chain admitted it expects liquidity on Asset Match to be potentially lower than on Aim, with less frequent trading and less time for shareholders to assess their stock’s value between auction events.
Everyman’s inclusion makes it the second company to join Asset Match’s Pisces market, after British brewery Wadworth joined in August. Securing Everyman gives the platform a boost as it competes with the London Stock Exchange market, which boasts Wayve, Moneybox and Veremark.
Meanwhile, JP Jenkins has welcomed only one group under its framework so far, completing the transaction for digital board game maker Qplay in March. Vestd has yet to add a company to its framework.
Everyman turmoil
Everyman first announced in June that three of its directors, who together own nearly 46 per cent of its shares, favoured quitting London’s public market.
The up-market cinema chain told shareholders this week that it believes its market value “does not reflect the positive achievements nor the underlying prospects of the business”.
The firm said private ownership will help it take more drastic measures to ensure its survival amid a choppy period for the cinema industry, as it contends with intense competition from streaming services.
Everyman said its financial performance can “change materially” each year, depending on the quality and number of films released. The resulting lack of accurate earnings guidance has “negatively impacted investor sentiment,” the firm said.
The group said it plans to shift its business model to rely less on ticket sales and more on corporate partnerships and private hire of its cinemas, as it targets annual revenue of £170m by the end of the decade.
This change in tack will leave Everyman exposed to a “period of volatility” in its performance, which could have threatened its share price if it remained on the public market, the firm said.