Trainline targets £1.7bn valuation in London IPO

UK transport booking app Trainline priced its shares at the top end of its targeted range at 350 pence per share on Friday, in a move that leaves the company sporting a £1.68bn valuation in its London stock market debut.

The online rail and coach ticket seller plans to raise a total of £951m as it floats 56.5% of its business, with £110m of the proceeds coming from the issue of new shares.

An over-allotment option could see the business' owner, private equity fund KKR & Co, release another 41m shares, which would bring the total number of shares in public hands to 312m, or 65% of Trainline’s issued share capital.

Fund managers Billie Gifford are set to invest £200.0m in the IPO.

The company, which had pushed ahead with the IPO despite reports of recent interest from private equity firms, said it intends to use the proceeds to raise its profile and tap into the growing demand for e-ticketed travel across Europe.

Clare Gilmartin, chief executive of Trainline, said: "We are delighted to be starting life as a public company on the London Stock Exchange. This is an incredibly exciting achievement for all of us at Trainline. I am extremely proud of our Trainline team and I want to thank every one of them for the role they have played in growing the company to become the leading independent rail and coach travel platform globally."

The group began trading on the London Stock Exchange at 0800 BST.