Dr Martens valued at £3.7bn after strong demand for IPO

Dr Martens will be valued at £3.7bn when the shoe company floats after high demand from investors for its shares.

The valuation is higher than the £3.5bn mooted valuation after the initial public offering was eight times oversubscribed.

The company will sell 350m shares at 370p a share worth a total of £1.295bn. This is equivalent to 35% of Dr Martens' shares. Permira, Dr Martens' private equity owner, will make another 52.5m shares available, leaving 40.3% of the company in public hands if exercised in full.

Conditional dealing starts at 08:00 GMT in London on 29 January under the ticker DOCS with unconditional dealing set to start on 3 February.

Kenny Wilson, Dr Martens' chief executive, said: "We have been delighted by the strong levels of interest, engagement and support from such a high quality selection of institutional investors. We are proud to take our place as a London listed company, both delivering as a successful plc and more importantly continuing to grow our brand around the world."

Dr Martens is known for its boots and shoes with air-cushioned soles which have been worn by skinheads, punks and other youth cults since the late 1960s. Musicians such as the Clash, the Specials and Pete Townshend of the Who have worn the boots, which started out as practical working footwear. Dr Martens were the subject of a song by comedian Alexei Sayle in 1982 and were mentioned in the Jam's single "A" Bomb in Wardour Street.

Dr Martens was owned by the Griggs family, which licensed the German design in 1960, until 2013 when the family sold to Permira for £300m and kept a 10% stake. The company sells more than 11m pairs of shoes and boots every year in more than 60 countries but some customers have complained about a reduction in quality.

High demand for Dr Martens shares bodes well for other IPOs being lined up in buoyant stock markets including Deliveroo, online gifts and cards company Moonpig and online review site Trustpilot.