Raspberry Pi shares soared more than 40 percent yesterday in a bumper debut on the London stock market.
The Cambridge-based computer maker is trading at 280p per share, valuing it at £542m.
But shares rose as much as 42 per cent to a high of 399p before closing at 385p.
That marked a very successful first day of trading and left Raspberry Pi, whose products are popular with hobbyist and hobbyist coders, worth £745m.
Demand for the shares, which are only available to select institutions but go on general sale to investors on Friday, is a big boost for the City.
New listing: Cambridge-based computer maker Raspberry Pi, whose products are popular with amateur and hobby programmers, jumped as much as 42% in its debut in the city.
Analysts said the bumper listing, or so-called initial public offering, of Raspberry Pi will “open the floodgates” for other tech companies to join the London stock market.
The tide is expected to be beginning to turn amid an exodus from the stock market as foreign buyers take control of companies or list their shares elsewhere.
Gaming giant Flutter, owner of Paddy Power, left the FTSE 100 last month for New York, while cybersecurity group Darktrace and music fund Hipgnosis leave imminently.
Raspberry Pi, founded in 2012, makes products used by enthusiasts to make computer servers or retro game consoles.
Profits increased from £16 million to £30 million in 2023 and its products were sold in 70 countries around the world.
Co-founder and chief executive Eben Upton said he considered listing in New York but ultimately chose the UK.
He explained that this was “not a patriotic decision” and added that “the smart money in America will find you wherever you are.”
“We realized that for a company of our scale, the London market is probably a better place,” he said.
Dan Coatsworth, of broker AJ Bell, said the Raspberry Pi listing remains “the biggest for the London market in a long time” and showed the UK is “open for business for tech IPOs” .