GTCO Becomes First Bank to List in London Plans $100m in New Capital

Guaranty Trust Holding Co (GTCO), the parent company of Nigeria’s biggest lender by market value (GTBank), will become the first Nigerian financial to list in London after raising $100 million in a share sale, it said in a regulatory filing.

GTBank in 2007 raised $750 million through the issue of global depository receipts (GDR), which the company will now cancel and de-list, according to the statement.

GTCO is selling shares to institutional and qualified investors as part of an ongoing effort to recapitalize its main subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.

That’s in line with a Central Bank of Nigeria requirement that all lenders with international banking licenses raise their equity capital to a minimum of N500 billion ($327 million) by March 2026.

GTCO, which is already listed on the Lagos-based Nigerian Exchange, will be the first lender from the West African nation to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), bringing to three the number of Nigerian firms listed in London.

The others are Seplat Energy Plc and Airtel Africa Plc.

The bank had sought shareholder approval in December to raise $750 million through an offering of ordinary or preference shares, convertible and non-convertible notes, bonds or any other instruments to be determined by its board.

In January, it announced the completion of a N209 billion capital raise, which it said was the first phase of a funding exercise.