Hill Dickinson advises Zaim on first equity IPO Prospectus for a trading company under the new Prospectus Regulation

Leading commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has advised microfinance company Zaim Credit Systems Plc on the admission of its entire issued share capital to the standard listing segment of the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market and the associated fundraising. This is the first time a non-fund issuer has issued an FCA approved IPO prospectus since the rules changed in July 2019.

Originally set up in 2011, Zaim Express, a subsidiary of Zaim Credit Systems, has become one of the leading microfinance businesses in western Russia. It currently has a network of 95 retail outlets in Moscow and western Russia and has over 300,000 customers. In its last financial year Zaim turned over £10.2 million and generated a pre-tax profit of £900,000. 

Jonathan Morris, a partner in Hill Dickinson’s corporate team, led the team and was assisted by senior associate Jack Delaney and paralegals Henry Schoen and Amelia Chung.

Jonathan Morris said: ‘We are delighted to have got this IPO over the line in challenging economic conditions and are pleased to have helped Zaim achieve this milestone, which hopefully should give its business a platform from which it can achieve rapid growth in the dynamic market in which it operates. We are also pleased to be acting on a transaction that involved publishing one the first equity IPO prospectuses under the new rules and to break new ground by being the first to publish such a prospectus in respect of a trading business. This deal has given us an in-depth understanding of the new rules and means we are well placed to advise on similar IPOs.’

Siro Cicconi, Zaim’s chief executive officer, commented: ‘We are pleased to bring Zaim to the London Market and appreciate Hill Dickinson’s assistance in steering us through this process. We look forward to working with them as we use our listing to help us grow our business.’