Singapore-based agricultural trading house Olam International has chosen London as the listing destination for its multi-billion pound food ingredients business.

Reportedly looking to raise more than $2.8 billion through the listing, Olam Food Ingredients (OFI) would offer investors another play on the trend towards plant-based foods and may even be big enough to qualify for the FTSE 100.

OFI is seeking a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in the first half of 2022, with a concurrent secondary listing in Singapore. London has been selected in part due to investors’ deep understanding of the food and beverage sector here.

Active in soft commodity markets including cocoa, coffee and edible nuts, OFI works with some of the world’s best-known food and beverage brands, food manufacturers, retailers and food services companies and has established market-leading positions across a range of on-trend, natural and plant-based products.

Mark Lynch, partner at corporate finance house Oghma Partners, said: ‘Assuming that the company does qualify as a UK Food Manufacturer, it provides a significant boost to the sector that has lost many former FTSE companies over the last twenty years including, Cadbury Schweppes, United Biscuits, Hillsdown Holdings, Albert Fisher, Northern Foods and Unigate.’

Lynch added that Olam would also offers investors ‘a route into the changing world of food ingredients which is seeing an expansion in its opportunities through the growth in demand for plant based foods.’

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