Online furniture retailer Dusk puts £300m London float on shelf

Dusk, the homeware products retailer, has shelved plans for a £300m London flotation that would have seen it join the ranks of Britain's listed companies later this year.

Sky News has learnt that Dusk has decided against pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) for the foreseeable future and now plans to remain privately owned.

The development will disappoint the London Stock Exchange, which hoped for a revival of the listings pipeline during the second half of 2026 but has yet to see one materialise.

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Companies including Waterstones, Loveholidays and the RAC have all drawn up plans to go public in London by appointing advisers, although their public market debuts are now likelier to take place in 2027.

Utmost Group, a wealth management solutions firm, may buck that trend by launching a £2.5bn flotation this month.

People close to Dusk insisted current trading was strong, and that the company could decide to revisit an IPO at some point in future.

It had appointed two sets of investment bankers to advise it on going public.

Dusk has benefited from consecutive years of record sales and describes itself as the UK's fastest-growing pure-play online homewares and furniture retailer.

Headquartered in Yorkshire, it has been buoyed by rapid expansion without having needed to fund it by raising external capital.

The company has amassed a two million-strong customer base, with repeat customers now accounting for over half of all transactions.

It has a wholesale partnership with The Very Group to sell bedding products online.

Jason Walker, Dusk's founder and executive chair, had planned to remain a major shareholder after the company went public.

Dusk targets a lower price point for its products than its rivals, arguing that its online-only model enables it to minimise overheads.

Chris Read, its chief executive, told The Times this year that its "continued focus on style, quality and affordability, alongside an operating model that enables us to stay close to our customers, means we can continue to serve them well and further consolidate our position as the market disruptor."

Dusk declined to comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Online furniture retailer Dusk puts £300m London float on shelf