£4bn float for web upstart that hunts out luxury labels

FARFETCH is gearing up for a £4bn stock market float.

The British-based luxury fashion website, which is backed by Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet, is preparing an IPO in New York as its racks up its expansion drive.

It is the latest move by the company which operates like a Deliveroo for luxury fashion – not owning any shops or even having an inventory of the clothes, shoes and handbags it sells. The brand has appealed to the fashion crowd as users can search for products that are sold out in their own country and buy it from an unknown boutique abroad. Farfetch handles the duty and foreign exchange.

Farfetch, which wooed Massenet to join its board as co-chairman in February, was founded in 2007 by Portuguese entrepreneur Jose Neves and sells products from more than 700 boutiques and brands around the world.

Its business model has proven attractive to investors, with Asian Powerhouse JD snapping up a £314m stake in June.

Rumours of the brand’s imminent flotation have been swirling for months, with Neves saying: ‘We are very well funded.’