Shein’s rapid growth, fuelled by its low-cost business model of sending parcels to customers worldwide straight from factories in China, has disrupted the budget fashion industry and put pressure on incumbents such as Sweden’s H&M and London-listed Asos and Boohoo.

Shein, valued at US$66 billion in a fundraising last year, is set to hold informal investor meetings in the coming weeks for a planned London initial public offering, sources with knowledge of the matter said last week, as the group awaits UK regulatory approval.

A multibillion-dollar IPO could be a boost for the UK’s financial markets, which have struggled to attract top companies in the wake of Brexit.

But any green light is also likely to attract criticism after US lawmakers opposed Shein’s listing there over concerns about its labour practices.

The company has repeatedly said it is committed to respecting human rights.

The 2023 revenue for Shein Distribution UK Limited was up 38% on its previously reported sales of £1.122 billion over the 16 months from Sept 6, 2021, to the end of 2022.

The UK business booked a pretax profit of £24.4 million last year.

Shein does not publicly report its global results, but Coresight Research estimates it made US$32.2 billion in sales worldwide in 2023.

The UK was Shein’s third-largest market in 2023 after the US and Germany, according to GlobalData estimates.

In the filing, Shein said milestones over the year included pop-up shops all over the UK, and opening an office in Manchester, northwest England. Shein’s British unit hired an additional 19 people over the year, for a total of 33 employees in the UK by Dec 31, 2023.

Shein Distribution UK Limited is a fully-owned subsidiary of Roadget Business Pte Ltd, which is incorporated in Singapore, and the ultimate controlling party is Elite Depot Limited, a company registered in the Cayman Islands, the filing showed.