Moonpig soars on market debut as shares leap by a quarter within minutes
Online greeting card platform Moonpig saw its shares rise by 25 per cent within minutes of pricing its London IPO on Tuesday.
Stock in the newly listed firm was trading at around 440 pence per share shortly after floating at 350 pence.
The sharp rise underlines spirited investor appetite and sets the stage for other e-commerce companies to follow.
Based on the offer price, the Moonpig’s valuation was £1.2bn at the start of dealings on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
The company raised £491.2m, with £20m coming from new proceeds.
Nickyl Raithatha, CEO of Moonpig Group, said: “We are proud to be joining the main market of London Stock Exchange and I would like to thank everyone at the group for their hard work.
“Listing on the London Stock Exchange is an incredibly special milestone and will provide new opportunities for the business.”
The private equity-owned company, which trades as Moonpig in the UK and as Greetz in the Netherlands, has enjoyed a boom in sales during the pandemic, in contrast to its high street competitors.
The company reported a 44 per cent leap in revenue to £173.1m in its latest full-year results as coronavirus restrictions sparked a surge in demand.
Moonpig is one in a long line of IPOs planned for the London market this year, hot on the heels of bootmaker Dr Martens.
Raithatha added: “We are confident that Moonpig Group will continue to make gifting even more effortless for millions of people across the UK and internationally.
“As the leaders of a market undergoing an accelerating shift to online, now is the perfect time for us to bring the company to the public market, and we are excited about Moonpig’s prospects for the future.”
Stephen Kelly, Chair of Tech Nation, added: “The announcement today that Moonpig has listed on the London Stock Exchange is yet another sign that we are entering a golden year for UK tech.
“The IPO of a homegrown company demonstrates both the strength of talent in the UK and the appeal of the LSE as a location for companies looking to IPO.
“We can expect more announcements like this from UK companies this year as we see UK tech come into its own, which has particular importance in a post-Brexit world.”