Introduction

London’s IPO market hasn’t been buzzing lately. However, one company might have brought it back to life. Winvia Entertainment, a gaming and prize-draw business, floated on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market this week, raising around £40 million with the help of law firms BCLP and Osborne Clarke.

The London Stock Exchange’s AIM (Alternative Investment Market) market is its secondary market, similar to the New York Stock Exchange's NASDAQ exchange.

What’s Winvia All About?

Winvia runs online prize draws and casino platforms across the UK and Romania. In the UK, it owns popular brands like Best of the Best and Click Competitions. In Romania, it operates Princess Casino and Royal Slots, among others.

What is an IPO?

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) are when a company sells its shares on a public stock exchange for the first time. 

By going public, the company plans to use its IPO funds to acquire smaller competitors in the prize-draw space, an industry that’s still fragmented but growing rapidly. Its dual-market model (UK and Eastern Europe) provides a strong foundation for scaling.

Why This IPO Matters

There have been very few London IPOs this year, making this one stand out. It’s rare to see a gaming company debut amid growing regulatory uncertainty. But that’s what makes it a story; it shows that some firms are still willing to bet on the UK’s capital markets. 

How Legal Teams Get Involved

Taking a company public isn’t just about ringing the bell on the London Stock Exchange; it’s the result of months of legal, financial, and regulatory preparation. Two major law firms worked behind the scenes to make Winvia’s IPO happen: BCLP and Osborne Clarke.

BCLP: Advising Winvia Entertainment

BCLP represented Winvia, guiding the company through every step of its initial public listing. Their role would have included:

  • Corporate and Capital Markets lawyers: preparing the company for admission to AIM, drafting the key documents that outline Winvia’s financials and governance, and ensuring everything met the London Stock Exchange’s listing rules.
  • Regulatory and Gaming Lawyers: checking that Winvia complied with both UK and Romanian gambling laws, a key task given ongoing debates around gaming tax reforms.
  • Tax and Governance Teams: analysing how potential changes to the UK’s Remote Betting & Gaming Duty might impact Winvia’s business model and advising on new board and reporting structures once the company becomes public.

Osborne Clarke: Advising Shore Capital, the Nomad and Bookrunner

Osborne Clarke acted for Shore Capital, which served as Winvia’s nominated adviser (also known as a “Nomad”) and bookrunner for the IPO.

A bookrunner is the investment bank that organises an IPO: building a list of investors, setting the share price, and managing the sale of shares to the market.

Osborne Clarke’s role was to assist Shore Capital with the financial and regulatory aspects of the listing. This included:

  • Structuring the transaction and ensuring investor marketing materials were legally sound.
  • Advising on cross-border issues, since Winvia operates in both the UK and Romania.
  • Supporting due diligence and compliance to make sure all disclosures were accurate and the IPO met AIM’s admission standards. 

Together, both firms helped translate Winvia’s business ambitions into a successful market debut, ensuring the company, its investors, and its advisers stayed fully aligned with UK listing and gaming regulations.

Future Outlook

Winvia’s IPO could be the start of a quiet comeback for London’s capital markets. If the company performs well, it might inspire other tech and entertainment businesses to follow suit.

The UK government’s proposed gaming tax reforms could significantly impact profitability in the sector, and how Winvia adapts will reveal whether its confidence in the UK market was a wise investment or a risky one.