Newsagent McColl’s today suffered a disappointing start to life as a listed company.
Shares in the convenience stores chain, which is the first of a slew of retailers to join the stock market, dipped to 184p on their debut, down from the offer price of 191p, despite the company insisting demand for shares had been oversubscribed.
The offer price valued it at £200 million, lower than the £225 million first mooted by the City when the group started making enquiries to institutional investors.
Analysts suggested investors may be waiting to spend their money buying into some of the other retailer planning listings including Pets at Home, Poundland and AO.com.
Founder James Lancaster, who still has a small stake in the business, said the successful listing “will enable us to accelerate our growth strategy, further enhancing our position in a rapidly growing convenience market”.
McColl’s debut came as markets in the UK fell with the FTSE 100, which closed at a 14-year high yesterday, declining 40.32 points to 6825.54.
