Fashion retailer Fat Face has confirmed its intention to float, bidding to raise £110m.

Fat Face has beefed up its list of non-executives. Chairman Sir Stuart Rose has brought in former Sainsbury’s finance boss Darren Shapland, director of people at BSkyB Deborah Baker, and ITV managing director of global entertainment Maria Kyriacou.

Fat Face, which has been owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint since 2007, will join a flurry of retailers to list this year including Ao.com, Pets at Home, Poundland and Boohoo.

Anthony Thompson, CEO of Fat Face, said: “Fat Face is an authentic UK lifestyle brand with a genuine heritage and a proven multichannel strategy. We have worked hard to maintain the brand’s unique identity and to develop a differentiated product, authentic and personal service, and a distinct store environment which is loved by our customers. Our brand integrity has been well received by customers and remains our priority.

“Since 2010, we have delivered strong financial growth and we believe that we have created a firm foundation for continued expansion within the UK, as well as laying down some initial plans for a controlled trial to take the brand to the United States. I am very proud of everything our management team and crew have achieved. I am confident that our position as a public company will give us the platform to continue growing our customer offer and deliver products which are designed to be loved by all our customers for life outside 9 to 5.”

Sales increased from £152.7m in the year ending 2011 to £178.8m for the year ended 2013. Like-for-like sales were up 8.6% for the year ended 2013. The group’s adjusted EBITDA increased from £24.8m to £31.2m from the year ending 2011 to the year ending 2013.

Fat Face wants to increase its retail space to 500,000 sq ft over the next five years, opening at a rate of eight to ten stores per year. It also wants to relocate some stores and refit others. It wants to increase ecommerce sales through website enhancements and enter international markets initially through carefully controlled trials on the east coast of the US within two years.

Fat Face reported sales growth of 12.4% in the 35 weeks to February 1, like-for-likes were up 8.4% and adjusted EBITDA of 28.2% to £32.1m.

Fat Face, set up in 1988 from a camper van in the French Alps, sells across 208 shops.

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