Parsley Box plans float to target over-60s with ready meals

Parsley Box said it would float on the stock exchange to expand its business selling ready meals to people aged 60 or over.

The company said it expected to offer shares on AIM in late March or early April. It said it planned to give its 154,000 customers the chance to buy shares in the initial public offering. Parsley Box will spend the money raised from the IPO on marketing to expand and become a household name.

Parsley Box was founded in 2017 by husband and wife team Gordon and Adrienne MacAulay when they found there were limited options for ready meals for delivery to Gordon's mother. Parsley Box targets the so-called baby boomer-plus generation, which is affluent and underserved, it says.

The business delivers about 900,000 meals each month that have a shelf life of up to six months and do not have to be kept in the fridge or freezer. Its customer group is the wealthiest and fastest-growing in the UK and is switching to ordering food online, the company said.

Chief Executive Kevin Dorren said: "We see ourselves as a challenger brand that is redefining the category and have only just begun to satisfy the demand of this underserved demographic. An IPO provides us with an attractive platform to realise our growth ambition, whilst also enabling our loyal customers and valued employees to share in our future success."

Parsley Box said its target market was 16.2m people making up about 24% of the population and was expected to grow. It said other ambient meal delivery services targeted younger consumers such as millennials leaving a gap in the market.