British retailer Bonmarche to list shares on AIM

LONDON, England - Bonmarche Holdings, the clothing retailer focused on women over 50, plans to list shares on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), it said on Friday, less than two years after it was bought out of administration by a private equity firm.

Founded in 1982, the Bonmarche business was acquired by an affiliate of Sun European Partners in January 2012 from administrators KPMG after previous owner Peacocks, saddled with 240 million pounds of debt, went into administration.

The group, which has a customer database of 6.5 million members, sells from 264 stores, a website, mail order catalogues, a telephone order service and through a TV shopping channel.

Bonmarche's owner expects to offer a minimum of 40 percent of the company's issued share capital to investors in the flotation, and to list on AIM in November.