Hostelworld has become the go-to site for world travellers
Hostelworld, the online site for tourist accommodation founded by Ray Nolan in 1999, has been valued at €245m after announcing the pricing of its IPO on the London and Irish Stock Exchanges.
The shares were listed on both exchanges with a price set at 185p per share.
The offer, which will see some 71.4m shares listed, is set to raise £125.4m (€173.7m) for the company.
Approximately 19.8pc of the issued share capital will be held by private equity player Hellman and Friedman.
Hostelworld emerged from Web Reservations International, which began as a booking engine for hostels. Very quickly, Hostelworld.com grew to 12m visitors a month and founder Ray Nolan drove the business forward, returning US$500m in 2009 on an initial investment of €130,000.
CEO Feargal Mooney said: “The IPO will further raise our already strong brand awareness in our growing and worldwide marketplace, enhance the group’s profile with investors, business partners and customers and enable access, should it be required, to capital markets to support future growth.”
Last week Hostelworld found itself in hot water when the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority took issue with TV and cinema ads the company had created and banned them.
Backpacker image via Shutterstock
