Stripe and Stare co-founder Nicola Piercy is considering listing her celebrity pyjama and underwear brand on one of London's stock markets.
Piercy told The Mail on Sunday that she is exploring a flotation in the City, aiming to join a rare group of only 21 female founders who have taken a company public in the United Kingdom over the past 15 years.
The underwear and sleepwear company has gained popularity among high-profile figures and generated £12 million in sales last year. Its profile received a significant boost this month after pop star Dua Lipa posted pictures wearing Stripe and Stare pyjamas during a hen party on Italy's Amalfi Coast to her millions of Instagram followers.
Piercy said her ambition to take the business public was made possible by a new academy launched jointly by stock exchange operator Aquis and Barclays Bank. The initiative aims to encourage more UK company listings amid growing concern about London's global financial competitiveness.
Aquis, which was founded in 2012, operates a junior stock market created to compete with the 300-year-old London Stock Exchange and its Alternative Investment Market, commonly known as AIM, which caters to smaller growth companies.
Financial pressures and shifting investor interest
The potential float comes at a time when public markets in Britain are struggling with a low number of initial public offerings. A growing number of companies have abandoned their London listings or chosen to launch floats on rival stock exchanges in Amsterdam and New York.
Piercy admitted that she had previously dismissed a stock market listing as unattainable. She said she had never considered a float to be "on the table", viewing public markets as reserved "for huge companies" and "way too inaccessible".
However, Piercy explained that participating in the academy provided her with a "crash course" on public markets. She added that any future listing for Stripe and Stare would still depend on securing "access to the right capital, at the right time, at the right price".
"We are an ambitious business that wants to make a global consumer brand and we need to give the money we have raised back to investors at some point," Piercy said.
Consumer resilience and future outlook
Despite ongoing pressure on household budgets from the cost of living crisis, Piercy noted that the company is benefiting from the "lipstick effect", an economic pattern where consumers continue buying affordable luxury or morale-boosting items, such as knickers that make them feel good.
She also pointed out a shift in private capital markets, observing a lack of interest from venture capital and private equity firms, which she said were "giving all their money to AI companies".
"That's why for us looking at a flotation and all it offers is an exciting opportunity for us," Piercy said.
David Stevens, chief executive of Aquis, praised the firms participating in the new listing scheme. "The first cohort shows the UK has no shortage of ambitious, high-quality growth businesses," Stevens said.
"The challenge is to ensure more of them see public markets as a viable route to their next stage of growth," Stevens added. "It's about giving founders tools to understand growth options and engage with public markets."
