OC&C Strategy Consultants advises Zabka on IPO – Poland’s largest listing in years

Polish convenience store chain Zabka has made a successful debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange last month, marking one of the largest IPO’s in the country. OC&C Strategy Consultants provide strategic advisory services to the IPO team in the run-up to the public listing.

Zabka is a fast-growing convenience store in Poland, currently operating over 10,500 outlets across the country. Between 2021 and 2023, the company achieved an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 25% in sales to end customers, alongside a 19% CAGR in adjusted Ebitda (a measure of profitability).

Going forward, Zabka’s plans are just as ambitious – in 2024 alone, the retailer aims to have opened approximately 1,100 new stores, with a long-term goal of expanding to a total of 14,500 locations by 2028. The company also is focusing on international expansion: Zabka recently acquired DRIM as an entry point in the attractive Romanian market.

To fund its expansion goal, Zabka went public on Thursday 17 October, at a valuation of PLN 6.45 billion. “Our listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange marks a major step in implementing our long-term growth strategy. We are well-positioned to double sales to end customers by 2028 and to open approximately 1,000 stores annually in Poland and Romania,” said Tomasz Suchański, CEO of Zabka.

Notably, the IPO was one of the biggest ever in the history of the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the largest public offering in Poland since 2020. To put its size into perspective, the IPO was the fourth largest in Europe so far this year, behind those of Spanish beauty group Puig, Swiss skin care group Galderma, and CVC Capital Partners (which coincidentally is Zabka’s largest shareholder).

Following the IPO, CVC Capital Partners remained Zabka’s biggest shareholder with a stake of around 40%. The investor bought the Polish store operator in 2017, when it had around 4,500 stores.

A team from OC&C Strategy Consultants advised Zabka and CVC Capital Partners during the IPO process, among others preparing market and industry reports for the prospectus. “We look forward to seeing the continued success in Zabka’s future,” commented Bartek Krawczyk, a partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants in Warsaw.