UBS has hired Collins Stewart as broker to the initial public offering (IPO) of Leapfrog, the UK nursery business, as the Swiss bank continues to wind down its private equity portfolio.

Sources close to the proposed flotation said Collins Stewart was hoping to float the company for at least £70m (€100m). This would give UBS a profit on the minority stake it acquired for £4m in 1998 through Phildrew Ventures, the buy-out business whose management spun out of UBS in 2002. Leapfrog was then a start-up with £29m initial financing led by European Acquisition Capital.