Scottish power generator Aggreko may be re-listed but will it encourage others to follow, asks TERRY MURDEN
With so few stock market listings of Scottish companies in recent years there is understandable excitement among the corporate finance community that we might finally see one before 2026 is out, though if it happens it’s likely to head across the Atlantic.
Dumbarton-based power generator Aggreko, which will be best-known to anyone attending an outdoor event, could be making a comeback to the public markets five years after its listing in London was cancelled when it was acquired for £2.3 billion by TDR Capital and I Squared Capital.
Its possible return to the quoted sector would most likely be in the US rather than London where it would seek a valuation of between $10bn and $12bn, representing a substantial return for its owners. Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have been retained as advisers.
Despite London likely to miss out, it has sparked some talk that it could encourage other Scottish companies to take the stock market route to raising finance.
A replenishment of Scotland’s quoted companies is certainly overdue. The last flurry of flotations was in 2021-22 and there have been few signs of the emergence of a new generation of IPOs which some expected to come from the thriving medtech, AI and space sectors.
The currently sparse quota has been depleted by the loss of Quiz Clothing, Parsley Box, and DeepMatter , who all opted to go private, and AMTE Power which failed. Their experience seems to have dimmed any resurgent interest across the Scottish business community.
This lack of interest is partly blamed on a lack of a strong capital markets infrastructure as well as a historic preference for debt and, latterly, private equity investment. There is still a tendency for companies to hit what was once called the “Tartan Ceiling” and sell out to larger companies, usually foreign, dangling big cheques. Companies that could have listed, such as Skycanner and Novosound, are among those sold to trade buyers.
Aggreko was originally listed in 1997 when it was demerged from haulage company Christian Salvesen. It has weaved an interesting history, being led for 11 years by Rupert Soames, most recently CEO of Serco and a president of the CBI.
The latest speculation around selling the business follows similar talk reported in 2024, but it seems the current owners are more serious about offloading the business which is now the world’s largest temporary power company, operating in 80 countries. It has supplied power to pop concerts and sporting events including the Ryder Cup, the FIFA World Cup, Formula E motor racing and the Olympic Games. It helped power the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
Significantly, it shifted away from smaller, higher‑risk projects and increased its emphasis on Europe, North America and the Middle East. Its work stretches across a range of sectors from supporting offshore wind farms to keeping ice rinks cold with hybrid chiller equipment, to providing temporary power at theatres.
This provenance, together with rising revenues, would make it an attractive investment. Analysts have forecast that after strong growth in the early years of its private ownership the group is likely to have continued posting double-digit revenue growth of between 13% and 14% between 2025 and 2026. Adjusted EBITDA is forecast to have risen from around £530 million in 2022 to £720 to £750 million in 2023.
One other growth area is the expanding demand for temporary power from the AI and digital infrastructure sectors. There is also more demand for temporary power from emerging markets and to provide support for under-strain national grids.
Whether Aggreko finally makes it back to the market may depend on it being picked off by other cash-rich buyers, including private equity firms KKR and CVC, along with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, all of whom have been linked to the company.
Should its owners opt for the US to list its shares, Aggreko would be following fellow Scottish firms Nucana and TC Biopharm, though the latter’s journey to the Nasdaq exchange ended in administration last October and liquidation before Christmas. Aggreko’s long trading record would provide some assurance to investors that it would avoid the same fate.
Some commentators believe Scotland needs its own stock exchange, though the most recent attempt to reopen an exchange ended in a mountain of unpaid debt and questions about its viability. The last exchanges in Scotland and the regions of England closed in the 1970s when consolidation made economic sense. Electronic trading made it less necessary to have local trading operations.
One advance has been the emergence of a Glasgow-based trading platform for shareholders in private companies. Mike McCudden, who had a brief association with the recent Scottish stock exchange project, acquired the moribund JP Jenkins. It now has 57 intermediaries trading shares in private companies, making it the largest private market in the UK, possibly in Europe. It is a member of the new PISCES system which seeks to create more liquidity in this sector.
Recent track record of Scottish quoted firms
- TC Biopharm, joined Nasdaq 2022, called in administrators in October 2025
- DeepMatter, admitted to AIM in 2022, went private in December 2023
- AMTE Power, admitted to AIM in 2021, collapsed in December 2023
- Parsley Box, admitted to AIM in 2021, went private in December 2022
- The Artisanal Spirits company, admitted to AIM in 2021, continues to trade
- Ashtead Technology, admitted to AIM in 2021, continues to trade
- Calnex Solutions, admitted to AIM in 2020, continues to trade
- Quiz Clothing, admitted to AIM in 2017, went private in January 2025, now in administration
- Springfield Properties, admitted to AIM in 2017, continues to trade
- Beeks Financial Cloud, admitted to AIM in 2017, continues to trade
- Nucana, joined Nasdaq in 2017, continues to trade
- Smart Metering Systems, admitted to AIM in 2011, acquired by KKR in 2024
Leave a Reply