Umbro float values former footballer's stake at £10m

Umbro priced its float at 150p to 190p a share yesterday, valuing the 8.3 per cent stake of Peter McGuigan, the chief executive, at about £10m.

The former Mansfield Town footballer will also be taking a further £4.5m out of the business through the repayment of preference shares that he holds plus accrued dividends on the stock. He invested £2.6m in the sports-wear company in 1999 when he led a management buy-in of the privately owned firm with backing from Doughty Hanson, the private equity firm.

The pathfinder prospectus published yesterday revealed that Cazenove, and Umbro's other professional advisers on the float, will be sharing fees of £6.4m on the IPO that will value the entire business at between £177m and £202m.

The company is raising £76.9m, all of which is being used to pay off the rest of the preference shares and the dividends accrued on them.

Mr McGuigan and Doughty Hanson will be able to sell down some of their retained stake in Umbro when the company trades on the stock market, although neither party has decided if it will dispose of shares.

Umbro has a strong association with football, supplying the kit for the England team, for instance, and links with players such as Michael Owen, the Liverpool striker who this week agreed to extend his endorsement contract with Umbro until 2019.

The company said that turnover in 2003 was £127.4m, up only marginally on 2002. Pre-tax profits in 2003 were £1.9m compared with £1.8m the year before.

However, it said the group's turnover in 2004 so far was significantly ahead of last year's, reflecting growth in sales in the UK and royalties received from Umbro's international licensees. It said sales of England's new away kit were particularly strong. It recently began a trading agreement with Foot Locker, America's biggest sporting goods retailer, to sell Umbro products in the US.

Yesterday's float document revealed that Mr McGuigan earned £258,000 in 2003 including a £35,000 bonus and benefits of £13,000. Although he and Umbro's other directors have not yet had any interests in share options in the company, that is set to change with the adoption of a long-term incentive plan.

For management, Umbro said it would propose a bonus scheme that will give directors shares equivalent to a full year's salary subject to certain performance criteria.