Rightmove makes market debut at 335p

Shares in British property website Rightmove will debut at 335p each on the London Stock Exchange in an IPO that values the group…

Shares in British property website Rightmove will debut at 335p each on the London Stock Exchange in an IPO that values the group at about £425 million (€619 million).

The price is at the top end of a 275-335p price range set by the company during its roadshow, a range that had to be increased midway through the listing process because of strong interest.

Rightmove declined to say how much demand there was for the flotation.

Traders reported speculation that there were requests for 35 times more shares than the 22.7 million on offer.

READ MORE

Dealers and analysts have also said in recent weeks that interest in Rightmove was helped by a favourable valuation compared with rival Savills.

Less than a fifth of Rightmove's share capital was sold in the IPO, and existing investors such as Countrywide, HBOS and Connells, part of the Skipton Group, all retained stakes of slightly more than 20 per cent each in the company. Royal & Sun Alliance still holds about 5 per cent of Rightmove.

Swiss bank UBS was the sole sponsor and bookrunner for the IPO, while British broker Panmure Gordon was the co-lead manager. The shares will start conditional trading this morning.