Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Supermarket major Lulu officially announces IPO

A man shops in a Lulu supermarket in Muscat, Oman. The company has an annual revenue of $8 billion Alamy via Reuters
A man shops in a Lulu supermarket in Muscat, Oman. The company has an annual revenue of $8 billion
  • Listing in Abu Dhabi next month
  • 25% stake of over 2.5bn shares
  • 240 stores across GCC

UAE supermarket major Lulu is to list a 25 percent stake on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Over 2.5 billion shares of Lulu Retail Holdings, which is among the largest hypermarket chain operators in the Middle East, will be made available with a nominal value of $0.014. 

“With GCC retail presenting a $100 billion market opportunity over the next five years and our business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia primed for further growth, we are confident that Lulu will continue to be where the world comes to shop,” said Saifee Rupawala, CEO of Lulu Retail.

Founded in 1974 by Indian businessman Yusuff Ali, Lulu has an annual revenue of about $8 billion and employs more than 65,000 people. 

The company operates 240 stores, made up of 116 hypermarkets, 102 express stores and 22 mini markets, across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Lulu enjoyed a 13.5 percent share of the GCC modern offline grocery market in 2023.

The offering will be made available to UAE retail investors, including eligible employees of the group, as part of the UAE retail offering; to professional investors through the qualified investor offering; and to eligible senior executives of the group.

The news follows the listing of UAE-based grocery retailer Spinneys in May on the Dubai Financial Market. The company received more than $19 billion in orders for its $375 million IPO, which was 64 times oversubscribed. 

Spinney’s share price has since dropped nearly 12 percent to AED1.50.

Savola Group, from Saudi Arabia, announced in February plans to list its grocery subsidiary Panda Retail.

Lulu is expected to officially list on the ADX on November 14.

According to a statement on Monday, the company said it wants to maintain a total dividend payout ratio of 75 percent of annual distributable profits after tax, and to make the payout twice a year, subject to relevant parameters.

The Lulu listing comes after a series of high-profile offerings on the ADX which have combined to add more than AED21 billion in value to the UAE’s stock market capitalisation in 2024.

Latest articles

Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute

Saudi Arabia: from oil giant to ESG pioneer

Home to the world’s second largest oil reserves, Saudi Arabia has not historically been associated with environmentally friendly investments.   But times are changing.  Last Friday, the heavyweights of Saudi business converged on London for a summit hosted by the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, a global non-profit organisation, during which it unveiled a new inclusive […]

UAE Turkey trade DMCC

More Turkish companies open in UAE after trade deal

A free trade agreement between the UAE and Turkey has been followed by a jump in the number of Turkish companies opening offices in the UAE.  The signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) between the two nations in March 2023 was designed to create greater collaboration and remove tariffs on a range of […]

Eni had paused its operations at the Zohr gas field but plans to resume drilling in Egypt by the end of the year

Italy’s Eni will restart gas drilling in Egypt and Libya

Italian energy company Eni is reviving its exploration operations on Zohr, Egypt’s largest natural gas field, by the end of the year, its CEO confirmed on Monday. “After some time, we were not really working on Zohr, we will restart drilling by the end of the year, and we are going to drill another well […]

If the Maaden deal goes ahead it will create the seventh largest aluminium manufacturer in the world

Bahrain’s Alba looking to Europe after Maaden deal

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) will keep exploring mergers and acquisitions, with a particular eye on Europe, once it completes its multi-billion dollar deal with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden). The deal is expected to be signed off in the first half of next year. The two companies penned a non-binding agreement in September and are in […]