Laybuy shares to start trading on the ASX today
New Zealand Buy Now Pay Later provider Laybuy (ASX: LBY) says its listing on the ASX provides the necessary capital to drive continued growth and positions it well to be a leading BNPL company.
The initial public offer raised AUD$80 million through a AUD$40 million primary issuance and an AUD$40 million sell-down by existing shareholders. Approximately 57 million shares are set to be sold at a share price of $A1.41. On listing, Laybuy will have 174.5 million shares on issue, valuing the company at $A246 million.
Laybuy Managing Director Gary Rohloff says since being launched in New Zealand in 2017, Laybuy has undergone rapid growth and is now one of the leading BNPL providers in New Zealand, with a growing presence in Australia and the United Kingdom.
“The capital raised through this IPO provides Laybuy with the funding needed to increase our presence in the United Kingdom, continue driving a strong marketing strategy and grow our customer base and merchant partnerships,” says Rohloff.
“Laybuy has worked hard to establish a strong and recognisable brand in the United Kingdom since we first launched there in 2018, and this provides the company with a very solid platform to cement our place as the leading weekly-payment BNPL provider in that market.
“The United Kingdom has a retail market that is more than two times larger than the Australian market. It is also a market where there is a comparatively high proportion of retail shopping done online and where BNPL is still in its infancy, providing enormous growth opportunities for Laybuy,” explains Rohloff.
“Alongside our plans in the United Kingdom, solidifying and increasing our market share in both New Zealand and Australia is also central to our growth plans, as is leveraging new strategic partnerships and opportunities for platform improvements, such as our recent partnership with Mastercard in New Zealand.”
Rohloff says Laybuy was established to help consumers avoid the traps of high-interest credit card debt and to help families better manage their budgets by allowing them to stagger payments interest-free.
“Laybuy was actually born following a family conversation about a pair of jeans around the kitchen table in Auckland, where we questioned why there wasn’t a safe and easy alternative to credit cards. That led us to thinking about how we could use technology to bring the traditional lay-by model into the 21st century,” says Rohloff.
“Laybuy uses a unique, fully integrated payment platform that allows customers to buy goods, take them home and pay them off weekly with six equal payments. The real benefit of Laybuy is, unlike credit cards, our customers don’t pay interest, ever! At the same time, Laybuy provides retailers with a low-risk payment option that helps them gain new customers and grow sales.”
Rohloff says that Laybuy takes its consumer responsibilities extremely seriously.
“We want to make life as easy as possible for our customers and that is why we credit check every new Laybuy customer. We also set strict transaction limits to make sure our customers can afford the goods they purchase.”
Rohloff says that despite listing on the Australian Securities Exchange, Laybuy remains a proud and innovative Kiwi company, with the majority of the shareholding remaining in New Zealand.
“At its core, Laybuy is a family business that has grown from a simple idea into a leading payment platform. Our Kiwi mentality and family roots will always be part of Laybuy’s DNA and we will never compromise on acting responsibly and representing New Zealand well on the world stage.”
