Aldermore’s shares are off to a flying start
SHARES in challenger bank Aldermore rose 11.5 per cent to 214p on its first day of conditional trading yesterday.
The challenger bank priced its offering of 34.8 per cent of issued share capital at 192p per share, near the top of its 175p-195p range. The price gave it a market cap of £651m.
It is the second time the bank has had a go at floating, initially putting off its original plans in October as a result of market turbulence.
But market appetite for so-called challenger banks is strong: having postponed its plans for its initial public offering (IPO) around the same time as Aldermore pressed the pause button, Virgin Money pushed ahead with its flotation in November, raising £500m. Shares in the lender have risen from 285p on its first day of trading to a high of 352p, yesterday.
“An IPO is time consuming, and doubly so for having done it twice. I look forward to getting back into the business, engaging with colleagues I have not seen,” Aldermore’s chief executive Phillip Monks told City A.M.
“And I promised my wife and daughters I would take them skiing over Easter.”
Unconditional market trading begins on Friday.
Main investor AnaCap is now subject to a lockup delaying the sale of any more of its stake in the bank.
Shawbrook Bank is also expected to float soon, and a series of other challenger banks are also being set up, including Atom, Starling and OakNorth Bank.
FIRST DAY TRADES
■ Aldermore’s shares floated at 192p and rose to a high of 216.25p – 12 per cent up
■ HSS Hire shares fared worse. Last month shares fell as low as 200p. Priced at 210p
■ John Laing inched down on their debut, from 195p to 192.25p