LJ Hooker IPO roadshow set for May

Management and advisers to LJ Hooker are set to embark on a roadshow in May, according to the Australian business column Dataroom.

They suggest the iconic real estate chain, LJ Hooker's long-planned $400 million initial public offering gains some momentum.

It advised LJ Hooker had initially planned to front investors in March but merger negotiations with a Melbourne-based property agency delayed the roadshow.

In a deal that will deliver the enlarged entity an 8 per cent share of the market, The Australian revealed the proposed union with the Barry Plant real estate agency last year, however it’s understood the two companies have yet to finalise discussions.

The company accounts for 6.7 per cent of the national volume of real estate shares residential while Barry Plant accounts for 1.9 per cent.

LJ Hooker has its advisers to the float as Citi and Morgans, who are likely to emphasise the business’s reliance on a franchise model.

LJ Hooker has already secure $22m in a pre-ipo funding round which enabled it to partially pay down a loan owed to Macquarie Group.