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According to a report by Bianniu.com on August 22, according to the British Daily Telegraph, there are reports that Chinese fast fashion giant Shein may be listed in London with a valuation of 50 billion pounds and is considering selling shares directly to the British public.

The company is currently conducting preliminary studies on the possibility of selling shares to retail investors and institutional investors in the City of London, the sources said.

The move is unusual - when companies list on the stock market they typically sell large blocks of shares to banks, pension funds and asset managers, while individual investors can only buy shares on the open market after trading begins.

Shein’s bankers, which include JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, are understood to be considering a proposal to sell shares directly to the public, though the plan is at an early stage and no decision has been made.

Retail distribution refers to offering Shein shares to its Gen Z customers or to wider retail investors through dedicated platforms.

Shein is considering whether to go ahead with a London listing and is currently studying the plans.

The company took the first step in late June, filing documents with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It has also filed documents with Chinese regulators.

The Daily Telegraph recently reported that the retailer is also exploring plans to build its first UK warehouse as part of an effort to address complaints that it pays lower taxes than rivals by shipping directly from China.

If Shein goes public, it would be London's largest ever listing, surpassing the £36bn IPO of mining company Glencore in 2011. Shein was valued at $66bn (£50bn) in May 2023 after raising $2bn.

The company's investors include U.S. investment funds General Atlantic, Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital China, as well as Abu Dhabi state investment fund Mubadala.

Inviting retail investors to participate in public listings has become increasingly uncommon in recent years.

The government's sale of NatWest Bank would have been the largest retail share sale in recent years, but Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves scrapped the plan last month.

Ms Reeves said the scheme was a wrong use of taxpayers' money because it involved selling shares at a discount.

While this is rare, a number of platforms have been set up in recent years to make it easier for underwriters to invite retail investors to participate in the listing process. These include Peel Hunt’s RetailBook platform and startup PrimaryBid.

Raspberry Pi successfully invited retail investors to participate in its £540 million debut on the London Stock Exchange in June, demonstrating that there is demand from investors to buy newly listed shares.

Shein declined to comment. JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs also declined to comment.