Card Factory failed to entice the City today with its first update since joining the stock market as the shares sat 7% below its listing price.
The company, which grew from the ashes of failed Clinton Cards, gave scant details on current trading, refusing to reveal how much sales had increased, only saying they had “continued to grow”.
Bosses refinanced the company’s £200 million debt pile and opened 29 new net stores during the four months to the end of May. This means it now has 742 sites and said it is on track to hit a target of 1200 over the next 10 years.
However, the shares remained flat today at 209p, well below its float price of 225p.
When the firm joined the stock market last month, investors appeared fatigued by the barrage of similar retail IPOs, including Pets at Home, AO World, Boohoo, Poundland and B&M Bargains, with many suffering similar slips.
Another company which has also struggled is newsagent McColl’s, which joined the stock market in February.
The shares are trading down 10% since then. However, the firm’s bosses are hoping to win back some supporters by unveiling plans to open 250 convenience stores by the end of 2016, as it opened its 750th site in Pembrokeshire.
