Financial Services

Virgin Money floats on stock market

First day of trading sees Richard Branson backed lender valued at £1.3bn

Virgin Money, the lender backed by billionaire Sir Richard Branson, launched itself on the stock market with a valuation of around £1.25 billion. The Newcastle-based company priced its shares at 283p - the bottom end of the 283p to 333p range it indicated last week after it revived plans for a listing due to an improvement in stock market conditions. (Photograph: Matt Alexander/PA Wire)

Thu Nov 13 2014 - 10:25

FIONA REDDAN

Virgin Money, the lender backed by billionaire Richard Branson, climbed in its first day of trading after raising at least £312 million in an initial public offering that had been delayed by last month's market selloff.

The shares were sold for 283 pence apiece, valuing the bank at £1.25 billion (€1.6bn), according to a statement today. The shares, which were priced at the bottom of a range that went as high as 333 pence, gained 1.5 per cent to 287.25 pence at 9 a.m. in London. While the company drew orders for all the shares on sale within a day of opening, the low pricing reflects caution in a quarter where at least five IPOs in Europe have been postponed or withdrawn amid a stock-market selloff.

Virgin Money and Aldermore Group delayed sales in October. Virgin Money said on November 4th it would resume the IPO after the Bank of England announced lower-than-expected minimum regulatory ratios for banks, prompting a surge in shares of British banks.

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The UK lender, which had a 3.8 per cent leverage ratio as of June 30th, already exceeds the BOE measure.

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