Kooth raises £26m in rare London listing. Its app provides a mental wellbeing and counselling service for young people.
With 300 staff, Kooth provides a wellbeing and therapy app on the NHS for young people aged 10 to 25. The app offers advice, discussion forums, experts to talk to and anonymous support.
As well as self-help tools, users can access professional, anonymous counselling services in online text based chats for those who may not be ready to go to a GP. Professional counsellors can also refer users to health services if they feel they are at risk.
Digital healthcare companies are coming into focus these days. Apps that can deliver video consultations or virtual health advice, such as Babylon or Push Doctor, have seen a surge in user numbers.
Apps that keep tabs on mental health are also likely to see an increase in demand. Kooth says its app saw a 36pc increase in use since the start of the pandemic. Anxiety and depression have risen as people stuck at home are isolated from friends and family, so it's good news that Kooth can be of help.
Tim Barker, Kooth chief executive, said: “As a public company with a positive social impact, we are proud to become the first digital mental health platform to list on the London Stock Exchange. We have an ambitious plan to invest in our team and technology to deliver on our purpose to make personalised mental healthcare available to all.”
London floats were all but absent in the first half of 2020. There were just 13 new listings on London’s markets, as of August, with just two new listings during the second quarter of the year, normally the market’s busiest patch. Kooth’s new offering saw it price its shares at 200p per share. Shares jumped 16pc during the first trades.
Original source: Telegraph
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