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| Saga shares see small rise on debut | Saga shares see small rise on debut |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Shares in over-50s insurer and holidays firm Saga have opened slightly higher on their stock exchange debut. | Shares in over-50s insurer and holidays firm Saga have opened slightly higher on their stock exchange debut. |
| The shares were offered at 185 pence, at the bottom of the 185-245p range announced earlier this month, and rose to 188p in conditional trading. | |
| Almost 300 million shares were issued, representing 27% of the overall value of the business. At the offer price, the company was valued at £2.1bn. | Almost 300 million shares were issued, representing 27% of the overall value of the business. At the offer price, the company was valued at £2.1bn. |
| Saga is one of many companies listing on the stock market this year. | Saga is one of many companies listing on the stock market this year. |
| Investor fatigue? | |
| Earlier on Friday, Easyhotel became the latest company to announce plans to float its shares, and this followed a raft of flotation announcements on Thursday - including property website Zoopla, airline Wizz Air and discount retailer B&M. | Earlier on Friday, Easyhotel became the latest company to announce plans to float its shares, and this followed a raft of flotation announcements on Thursday - including property website Zoopla, airline Wizz Air and discount retailer B&M. |
| Already this year, companies such as Poundland, Pets at Home, AO World and the owner of Patisserie Valerie have floated on the London market. | Already this year, companies such as Poundland, Pets at Home, AO World and the owner of Patisserie Valerie have floated on the London market. |
| However, there have been signs that appetite among investors for some of these flotations might be beginning to wane. | However, there have been signs that appetite among investors for some of these flotations might be beginning to wane. |
| On Thursday, Fat Face abandoned its flotation plans blaming current market conditions. | On Thursday, Fat Face abandoned its flotation plans blaming current market conditions. |
| Also Saga's shares were priced at the bottom of its indicated range, although the company said earlier this week it had seen "exceptional" demand from retail investors. | |
| Customer demand | |
| Saga is set to raise about £550m through the flotation. Half of the shares on offer are going to retail investors, with a "substantial majority" of these going to its customers. | |
| The company said that applications for the minimum amount of £1,000 of shares would be met in full, and more than two-thirds of retail investors had been granted at least 50% of what they applied for. | |
| Saga's executive chairman Andrew Goodsell said: "We have been very pleased with the level of demand for Saga shares from both retail and institutional investors, with the offer subscribed several times over." | |
| "We are delighted to have so many of our customers as shareholders and to have a high quality group of core institutions who we believe will be long-term supporters of the business." |