Metro Bank has started its flotation on the London Stock Exchange with a £1.6bn valuation.
Metro Bank has started its flotation on the London Stock Exchange with a £1.6bn valuation.
The bank raised £400m from global asset managers last week but was forced to cut its flotation price from £24 to £20 per share due to a sell-off in banking stocks.
Metro upped its lending by 123% to £3.5bn last year and grew its deposits by 78% to £5bn. In the process it served 200,000 new customers, taking its total number to 700,000.
Vernon Hill and Craig Donaldson opened the market at a ceremony at the London Stock Exchange yesterday.
Hill said: “The Revolution in British banking continues with our listing on the Premium London Stock Exchange. Many thanks to our team members, investors and fans.”
Donaldson added: “Building the bank from the ground up has given us some great advantages. We have connected with local communities and driven our customer numbers and deposits by placing attractive stores in the right locations.
“We have also been able to create a new bank with the right values, superior service levels and state-of-the art IT infrastructure. The funds we have raised will power the next phase in Metro Bank’s growth across our multi-channel offering.”
Metro launched in 2010 and is known for being dog friendly and offering instant printing and replacements for lost or stolen credit cards.
