RAC float could offer breakdown recovery to ailing stock market
Our weekly free round up of key deals and major moves in the Rainmakers world
Hello Rainmakers,
The UK’s roadside rescue sector could be gearing up for a major market manoeuvre, with signs that one of its biggest names may be preparing to break down barriers at the London Stock Exchange.
This is free to all who have signed up, however Rainmakers subscribers get two unique pieces a week, but also full access to our back catalogue of investigations, scoops, and insights, including updates from The Secret Investor, interviews with entrepreneurs, and the leaders from VC and PE investors like Endless, and River Capital, Foresight, Mercia, Puma and LDC.
Reports suggest a potential flotation valuing the breakdown giant RAC at around £5bn, and it’s a move that would mark the City’s biggest IPO since the bumper listings of Wise and Deliveroo back in 2021.
If it goes ahead, the listing would likely see the firm cruise straight into the FTSE 100, giving London a much-needed horsepower boost after years of IPO gridlock.
Big-ticket listings have been thin on the tarmac since the pandemic, although October did deliver a spark of life when Princes Group and Shawbrook hit the market at £1.3bn and £1.9bn respectively.
Behind the wheel is a heavyweight shareholder group including CVC Capital Partners, Silver Lake Partners and Singapore’s GIC, with market chatter suggesting the owners could also be open to an outright sale if the right offer comes along.
Financially, the engine appears to be running smoothly. The business counts around 15 million members and posted an 8% rise in first-half revenues to £411m, while earnings accelerated by 12% to £152m.
Adding extra fuel to the story, rival roadside operator AA is also reportedly sounding out options at a similar £5bn valuation.
Whether this turns into a blockbuster float, a trade sale, or a head-to-head dash for investor cash, one thing is clear: Britain’s breakdown giants are no longer parked on the hard shoulder - they’re accelerating back into the spotlight.
::
Watching Gary Neville stand in front of a fans forum, and announce that Salford City will be reverting to their ‘heritage’ orange and black next season, seems a million miles away from his trip to the US with advisers from specialist firm Consello to seal a deal to sell a stake in the Moor Lane club to AIG, the onetime sponsor of his old club Manchester United.
Yet here we are, another US investor in the round ball version of “football”, with AIG Chairman and CEO, Peter Zaffino saing his new investment, Salford City FC, “embodies the values AIG stands for such as setting the standard, winning together and doing what’s right to support our communities.”
The American insurance giant becoming the largest shareholder in Salford City FC, backed since 2014 by footballer turned entrepreneur Gary Neville and his close friend Sir David Beckham, was on no-one’s bingo card.
Co-owner Neville said of the deal that makes AIG the first Fortune 500 company to take an ownership stake in a League Two English Football League (EFL) club: “A few weeks ago I went to the U.S. to meet Peter personally, and it really was one of those ‘pinch yourself’ moments.
“Most partnerships in football stop at visibility, but this one goes much deeper. When I was there with the Consello team, we talked about leadership and performance, about how AI can strengthen decision-making, and about building the infrastructure and commercial engine to match our ambition. The opportunity to tap into AIG’s intelligence, innovation and leadership is extraordinary, and it can help move Salford City FC forward in a meaningful way.”
Next season Salford, currently chasing promotion to League One, will revert to their traditional orange kit, which will bear the AIG logo. At a recent members meeting Beckham admitted the change to red had been a mistake, and Neville said at the fans forum that the change had been “selfish”. A vote by season ticket holders overwhelmingly voted to return to the heritage colours.
::
The team behind Nottingham’s Island Quarter has hit the financial reset button, striking a new deal with Barclays that gives its student scheme a little more breathing room.
The loan tied to the Winfield Court development was due to come home in December 2025, but it’s now been given a 12-month extension, pushing the final repayment date back to 23 December 2026. In other words, the project has avoided a year-end cliff edge and gained an extra lap.
There’s been a slim-down under the bonnet too. The overall facility is being trimmed from £43.6m to £38.8m, thanks to a £3.9m repayment and the scrapping of a £900,000 unused credit line.
To keep Barclays comfortable in the passenger seat, extra security is being put on the table. Assets, including Binks Yard and the Cleaver & Wake restaurant and events space at Island Quarter, are being charged, helping bring the loan-to-value ratio down to a tidier 60%.
Meanwhile, the developer confirmed its audited accounts for the year to 30 September 2025 are expected to land in January 2026 - giving investors a clearer map of the road ahead.
::
Harbour Energy is set to acquire Waldorf Energy Partners and Waldorf Production – which are currently in administration – for around $170m.
This will increase Harbour’s interest in its operated Catcher field from 50% to 90% and provide a new production base in the Northern North Sea. On the financial side, the transaction will release an estimated $350m of cash currently posted to secure Waldorf’s decommissioning liabilities, leveraging Harbour’s balance sheet.
Also in the North Sea, Serica Energy is buying a portfolio of offshore assets from Spirit Energy for £57m.
These comprise a 15% non-operated working interest in Cygnus – one of the largest producing gas fields on the UK Continental Shelf – a 25% non-operated working interest in Clipper South, operated positions across various assets in the Greater Markham Area, and further operated and non-operated interests in gas fields across the southern North Sea.
::
A solid, good news deal will ensure many more bricks in walls across the UK, with private equity firm, 4D Capital Partners, buying York Handmade Brick Co. The acquired business is a North Yorkshire-based manufacturer of handmade bricks and the deal has prevented it falling into administration, saved 20 jobs and secured its long-term future.
York Handmade’s bricks have been used in highly distinctive developments up and down the country, including in the Shard in London, the Said Business School in Oxford and Magdalene College Library in Cambridge. The business will now be cemented into 4D’s building products group, together with Hepworth Clay. Alex Silk founder of 4D, said: “We are pleased to have added York Handmade to our building products group. Like Hepworth, it is a heritage brand producing high quality products and we are very proud to become its custodians.”
::
::
Partners
Email sales@thebusinessdesk.com for sponsorship opportunities
2025 Highlights Video
::
Thank you for subscribing to Rainmakers.
We believe in good journalism that is worthy of your support. Please share this edition of Rainmakers so we can grow the message further and wider.
The insights and commentary we share with you are rooted in the trust we have built in the business community.
We’re also on LinkedIn - please join our Rainmakers community group for updates and offers and opportunities to comment.
If you have something you think we should look at, then either reply to this newsletter or email michael.taylor@thebusinessdesk.com.