10th Mar 2015 10:16
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aldermore Group PLC shares are rising on their first day of conditional dealings on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, as the bank becomes the latest to list in an effort to raise capital to help take business away from the traditional high-street lenders in the UK.
Aldermore shares were trading at 212.75 pence on Tuesday morning, up 20.75 pence on the 192 pence pricing of its initial public offering.
Aldemore's offer price gave the bank a market capitalisation of GBP651 million when dealings began. The IPO raised GBP75 million for the lender, while backer Anacap, the private equity firm, also sold part of its holding in the company.
"We believe that becoming a listed company will further support our development by allowing us to provide flexible and straightforward products and customer-focused banking services to British small and medium-sized enterprises and homeowners," Phillip Monks, chief executive, said in a statement.
Monks said that Aldermore will grant up to GBP1,000 in shares to each of its employees as part of the float.
Aldermore's debut on the stock exchange follows the IPOs of Virgin Money Holdings (UK) PLC and TSB Banking Group PLC, as UK regulators and government authorities aim to stimulate competition in a market dominated by the traditional 'Big Four' of Barclays PLC, HSBC Holdings PLC, Lloyds Banking Group PLC and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.
According media reports, British bank Shawbrook, another lender to SMEs, is eyeing a London listing, while retail lender Metro Bank and the UK arm of Spanish banking giant Santander are also thought to be open to listing shares in London at some stage.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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