Equiniti prices flotation at 165-200p

Shares in the company, which was sold by Lloyds TSB in 2007, will be offered to institutional and retail investors at a range between 165p and 200p apiece.

Equiniti expects to rake in approximately £315m gross, which it will use to pay down some of the debts built up by private equity owner Advent International, which will cream off most of the rest of the IPO cash for itself eight years after buying the company for £550m.

Advent will continue be the largest shareholder and has subscribed for £75m of new shares at the offer price, which will also go towards paying down debt towards a target by end of 2015 of approximately 3.25 times EBITDA.

Equiniti chief executive Guy Wakeley said a London IPO was a natural fit for the business as it was a provider of technology, payment services and administration to about 70 of the FTSE 100.

Among its many services, the company is a corporate share registrar, manages share-save schemes and provides share dealing services in the execution-only market through its Selftrade and Shareview brands that have around 450,000 customer accounts.

Its pension and payroll customers include the NHS and the British army, where the company originally began as paymaster general in 1836.

In recent years the company has grown due to increased legislation and regulation encouraging clients to outsource using its services, with digitalisation offering efficiencies. As this process shows little sign of abating, Wakeley and his board are confident that demand will continue to grow.

Many new shareholders will also be attracted by Equiniti's pledge for a progressive dividend policy targeting initial payout ratio of approximately 30% of adjusted normalised profit after cash tax.

"Underpinned by strong cash generation, a resilient financial profile and growing markets, we see Equiniti as a business with huge potential," Wakeley said.