A TRIO of companies today announced plans to raise more than £400 million through stock market flotations.

Blackburn-based educational ’whiteboards’ firm Promethean, youth fashion retailer SuperGroup and Yorkshire healthcare software business EMIS all confirmed fundraising plans this morning.

The moves show the appetite for smaller-scale launches remains despite several major flotations being pulled in recent days due to market turbulence - including fashion retailer New Look and Alton Towers group Merlin Entertainments.

Promethean is looking to raise around £250 million through a float of around half the business, SuperGroup is issuing shares worth an estimated £125 million while EMIS hopes to raise #50 million.

SuperGroup - the owner of the Superdry brand - has 40 standalone stores in the UK and 54 concessions in department store chain House of Fraser.

The firm’s sales almost doubled in the 26 weeks to November 1 and its clothing has been worn by the likes of celebrities such as footballer David Beckham, actor Zac Effron and model Helena Christensen. The partial float values the overall firm at around £400 million.

Promethean - which focuses on reception, primary and secondary education - has benefited from strong annual growth in education spending during the past decade.

As of the end of 2009, the company’s equipment was being used in 550,000 classrooms in 100 countries, helping to educate more than 12 million students.

Leeds-based EMIS employs almost 800 people and was set up in 1987 by two GPs who recognised the need to computerise patient records which were then kept on paper at surgeries.

The company’s system now holds around 34 million patient records - representing more than half of all GP practices - and is a market-leading alternative to the Government’s current NHS National Programme for IT, which has been mired in delays and cost overruns.

It made operating profits of £15.8 million on turnover of £58 million last year and would be valued at around £200 million by the float.