Royal Mail races past 470p as full trading starts
THOUSANDS of individual investors are expected to offload their Royal Mail shares today, as the company completes its listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Shares in the privatised postal service yesterday closed at 471.36p, up 42 per cent on Friday’s flotation price. This means people who received the maximum £749.10 allocation are already sitting on a paper profit of around £320 each.
Individuals who bought their Royal Mail shares through leading brokers have been able to sell shares since Friday. But today’s start of unconditional trading means people who chose to use the government’s official website can now dispose of stock.
Last night a business department spokesman insisted that the government is happy with the website’s capabilities, even though strong demand to sell shares has strained sites run by commercial rivals such as Hargreaves Lansdown.
Labour said the continued share price gains show the government substantially undervalued the firm.