Speaker 1: Well, we want to focus next on an IPO happening
Speaker 1: in London today and for that we're joined Buyer Breaking
Speaker 1: News editor and editor of the London Russian newsletter, Louise Noon,
Speaker 1: Louise good morning.
Speaker 2: Good morning, Stephen So. Applied Nutrition, the maker of protein
Speaker 2: powders and supplements, has raised over one hundred and fifty
Speaker 2: seven million pounds in its IPO in London this morning.
Speaker 2: Shares a price at one hundred and forty pence, which
Speaker 2: was towards the low end of the range before they
Speaker 2: jumped at open touching one hundred and fifty pence. Now
Speaker 2: it's notable because it's one of the very few IPOs
Speaker 2: that's happening in London at the moment. So to talk
Speaker 2: about it further, we're joined now by Thomas Ryder, the
Speaker 2: founder and CEO of Applied Nutrition. Thomas, good morning. Just
Speaker 2: want to start off with a question to ask why
Speaker 2: are you happy with this price this morning and were
Speaker 2: you disappointed that you weren't able to list at a
Speaker 2: slightly higher price.
Speaker 3: Now, we're absolutely delighted with the place that we have.
Speaker 4: We're absolutely delighted with the register of investors that we have,
Speaker 4: so honestly we couldn't ask that much more.
Speaker 1: Talk to us about the decision to list and list
Speaker 1: in London. You know that there's many other companies that
Speaker 1: have chosen to go elsewhere for us, Was this a
Speaker 1: good time to list in London?
Speaker 3: For you? You know?
Speaker 4: I think fit Firstly, I think we chose the list
Speaker 4: because we just feel that we're on that we're at
Speaker 4: that point within our journey now of becoming the world's
Speaker 4: most trusted and innovative sports nutition brands, and we just
Speaker 4: felt that list and now would catapults us into a
Speaker 4: new league, offering us global credibility and global recognition. As
Speaker 4: we're an export company, we're trading over eighty countries. We
Speaker 4: just felt that was the right move forward us right now.
Speaker 4: But when we explored the option, yeah, we aid some
Speaker 4: negativity around what markets to go on and LC, but
Speaker 4: for us were the UK brands.
Speaker 3: We're proud to be a UK brands.
Speaker 4: We're flying the flag for UK sports nutition brands globally
Speaker 4: and it would only ever be the London Stock Exchange.
Speaker 4: We would never consider anywhere else. We are we are,
Speaker 4: We're a proud UK company and we want to be
Speaker 4: on the LC.
Speaker 2: So you noted that that negativity in some of your
Speaker 2: discussions before. Why do you think that London really does
Speaker 2: struggle struggle to attract these new listings. There's been a
Speaker 2: few reforms that have have been implemented more recently. Do
Speaker 2: you think those have worked? What do you think needs
Speaker 2: to change? What are the key problems?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 4: You know, since we started this process and we went
Speaker 4: on the road and we're speaking to investors, we've seen
Speaker 4: not on BOD excitement. We've been seen not on BOD
Speaker 4: encouragement and people are really embracing our company with their
Speaker 4: arms open. We're absolutely humble, so we could ask for more.
Speaker 4: We've not seen anything for excitement here.
Speaker 1: I wonder if you're thinking as well about the budget
Speaker 1: due next week. Lots of talk about what taxes might
Speaker 1: be raised on businesses as well. Were you conscious of
Speaker 1: that timing when you chose to list this week?
Speaker 4: Now, we always plan to list in Q four. It's
Speaker 4: just that the data felt nicely for us. Well, yeah,
Speaker 4: it's it's always been within our plan.
Speaker 2: So Thomas, I have to ask, so this You created
Speaker 2: this business roughly ten years ago, and from what I understand,
Speaker 2: you were a scaffolder before you started selling protein powders
Speaker 2: and these happens as a kind of side hustle. Did
Speaker 2: you ever think that this will happened?
Speaker 3: Was this your plan?
Speaker 2: Did you ever think you'd get to an IPA?
Speaker 4: You know if the bats me ten years ago, No,
Speaker 4: we could never have done that. We'll be here today,
Speaker 4: IPO and the company. It's like it is literally a
Speaker 4: dream come true. But it has always been something in
Speaker 4: the back of my mind. Would I've always said some
Speaker 4: people say, well, where do you want to take the business?
Speaker 4: But where where do you want to go? In the
Speaker 4: back of my mind Sometimes you don't say it out
Speaker 4: loud because you're ashamed too or I don't know, boy,
Speaker 4: in the back of my mind, I've always thought I
Speaker 4: would love to IPO the company and be a PLC.
Speaker 1: It's interesting we've been reporting some comments from the Prime
Speaker 1: Minister overnight saying that he doesn't think there's anything in
Speaker 1: the budget that's going to scare entrepreneurs away. Is there
Speaker 1: anything that you'd like to see the government do that
Speaker 1: would perhaps help you to boost your business? You know?
Speaker 4: For us, I just think in the UK it's important
Speaker 4: for businesses to work with the government's government to work
Speaker 4: with businesses, and I think whatever policies are put forwards,
Speaker 4: we're going to embrace them, you know. So we look
Speaker 4: forward to whatever whatever government and whatever policies are put
Speaker 4: in front of us.
Speaker 1: Talk to us about where you expect the company to
Speaker 1: go from here. What's your next big goal that you're
Speaker 1: aiming for.
Speaker 3: So that's where my focus is. And we've not gosted
Speaker 3: the service. Literally we've done well. You are right.
Speaker 4: We've been around now ten years and we've come a
Speaker 4: long way, but we've not gosted the service.
Speaker 3: So where we could be. This industry is absolutely huge.
Speaker 4: This is a big world and we're now embracing a
Speaker 4: lot of new consumers, consumers from health and wellness consumers
Speaker 4: all the way up to professional athletes.
Speaker 3: It's the road ahead of us is absolutely huge and exciting.
Speaker 2: And having done this yourself, what advice would you give
Speaker 2: to someone else who would be in your position where
Speaker 2: you were about ten years ago, or someone you know
Speaker 2: considering starting their own business as well?
Speaker 4: Number one, believe in yourself, don't let anyone put doubts
Speaker 4: on your own bleeps and your own ambitions, folly dream
Speaker 4: and just just just keep grinded away.
Speaker 1: Do you think your Your business is based in Liverpool,
Speaker 1: are you Is that a good place for your business
Speaker 1: to be where you tempted to move anywhere else the time?
Speaker 1: Do you think you're kind of in a leadership position
Speaker 1: there where it comes to entrepreneurship in the city.
Speaker 3: I'd like to think so, yeah. I mean, we would
Speaker 3: never ever move from the city. We are a Liverpool
Speaker 3: based company and that that's it. That's our route.
Speaker 4: We manufactured in you know, we have a headquarters there,
Speaker 4: We have a manufacturing facility, warehouse and facility officers. We
Speaker 4: also have officers in the US, also in Dallas, but
Speaker 4: the heart of the business is in the book.
Speaker 1: I'm interested in your export market as well. Where are
Speaker 1: you targeting to expand that? And you know, there's been
Speaker 1: so much talk about how the UK it's more difficult
Speaker 1: to trade, for example, with the European Union post braggs
Speaker 1: that have you experienced any of that?
Speaker 4: There was there was complications post Brexit. I think that
Speaker 4: it's nothing that we've never overcome quite quickly, and it
Speaker 4: hasn't stopped us in any way or slowed us down
Speaker 4: in any way of trading with Europe. In factor's a
Speaker 4: huge demographic for US it's a region that where we
Speaker 4: do very well and we're growing in We're now going
Speaker 4: multichannel in Europe into grocers, so we've not seen any
Speaker 4: suppressing so we will not be suppressed in any way
Speaker 4: since since Brexit.
Speaker 2: Thomas, thank you so much for joining us this morning
Speaker 2: and congratulations on the IPA this morning, but thank you
Speaker 2: for your time.
Speaker 1: Thomas Rider, their founder and CEO of Applied Nutrition. Those
Speaker 1: shares trading at just over one hundred and forty seven
Speaker 1: pence on the London Stock Exchange this morning, the latest IPO,
Speaker 1: of course in the city at a time that we've
Speaker 1: been talking about a dearth of such listing. So great
Speaker 1: to get the perspective there of Thomas Ryder about his
Speaker 1: both the journey to the IPO for the company, why
Speaker 1: they chose to list in London, and his hopes for
Speaker 1: where they go next.