Smartstream plans milestone IPO

The float could be the UK's largest software IPO since 2001

Smartstream will float on the London Stock Exchange next month

Software supplier Smartstream Technologies expects to raise £100m when it floats on the London Stock Exchange in early October.

If the target is reached it will be the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the UK since 2001.

Smartstream is the market-leading reconciliation software supplier for the banking sector. Its 38 per cent market share includes business with more than 75 of the world's top 100 banks.

It is part of a fast-growing market. Analyst IDC predicts that by 2011, the global transaction process management sector will be worth nearly £900m, compared with £539.7m last year. Progress is partly driven by higher spending on compliance with regulations such as the in-coming European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.