Raspberry Pi (RPI) shares continued to climb on Friday as retail investors started to buy them for the first time. The price reached 78% above the IPO price of 280p at one point before falling back to end the week at 420p, marking a 1.9% increase on the day.
Raspberry Pi Closes a Successful First Week on the LSE
The computer maker was listed on the LSE for the first time this week and rose 47% on Tuesday: a strong start. However, Friday marked the first day the shares were open to all investors, as they were previously listed on a conditional basis purely for institutional buyers.
RPI sources have already confirmed that the IPO will raise £166m. Some analysts have suggested that the high level of demand in the IPO means that retail investors are happy to go back and buy more shares at a higher price.
This successful IPO could help make the LSE more attractive to other tech companies looking to secure a listing. Unfortunately, Arm, the processor IP business based in Cambridge, decided to float its stock in New York last year.
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The UK government tried to encourage Arm (ARM) to list on the LSE but failed, and the stock has since climbed by 160% following its NASDAQ debut. With other big companies like Flutter and Tui turning their back on the LSE, the success of RPI so far could make the UK a more attractive market for new listings.
Eben Upton is one of RPI’s cofounders, and he said last year that their decision to prioritise commercial customers was the
single hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my business career.
However, he pointed out that the company intends to continue to support hobbyists following the IPO.
