CAB Payments listing flops in blow to London stock market

Company’s IPO performance raises concerns about City’s ability to attract investors

A rare stock market listing in London flopped on its first day, dealing a blow to hopes of a revival in companies deciding to float in the UK.

CAB Payments, which specialises in foreign exchange and cross-border transactions in emerging markets, suffered a 10pc slump in its shares after making its initial public offering (IPO) on Thursday.The company’s shares fell to a low of 300p in afternoon trading after listing at 335p, raising £291.5m and valuing the business at £851.4m based on the offer price.

It was the UK’s second-biggest IPO this year, after the May sale by Admiral Acquisition, a vehicle listed by dealmaker Martin E Franklin.

Neil Campling, a founding partner at hedge fund Chameleon Global Cap, said: “It’s never a good look for IPOs to immediately break the issue price. It certainly won’t encourage others to list in the UK.”CAB’s launch comes on the heels of the cancelled IPO of WE Soda, the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash.The UK-based group that produces the glassmaking ingredient made a U-turn on the planned float owing to “extreme investor caution in London” that prevented it from achieving its expected valuation.