London estate agent Foxtons made a cracking debut on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of £649m today.
Shares soared 22% within half an hour after the stock was floated at 230p a share.
BC Partners, which bought the firm for £360m in 2007, and other selling shareholders, will get £335m from the sale. A further £55m raised will be used to pay off company debts.
Chief executive Michael Brown said: “We are delighted that our initial public offering has been successfully received and there has been strong interest from investors.
“We welcome our new shareholders to Foxtons and we are looking forward to the next stage in the development of the business as a listed company.”
Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital told the Daily Mail: “Around the time Foxtons announced its shares offer, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said UK house prices grew by the most since 2006 in July 2013 as Government backed schemes boosted sentiment around the housing market.
“Foxtons debut today reflects this……[and] demonstrates just how investors feel about business exposed to the US housing market recovery currently in boom.”
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