McCarthy & Stone prices IPO at 180p per share

McCarthy & Stone has priced its listing on the London Stock Exchange at 180p per share, giving the business a market capitalisation of £967m.

The builder of retirement homes said it was raising gross proceeds of £90m from the listing of a 35% stake in the business to provide flexibility for further investment in land and build.

McCarthy had been planning to raise up to £70m in primary proceedings when it announced plans to float in October.

The company said it expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE quarterly review in March next year.

Chief executive officer Clive Fenton said: "The level of support that our initial public offering has received is a strong endorsement of our differentiated business model and clearly-defined growth strategy.

“We remain on track to deliver our target of selling more than 3,000 units per annum over the medium term and our plans are underpinned by favourable demographics and the structural undersupply of specialist retirement housing.”

McCarthy & Stone had been listed on the London Stock Exchange for over 20 years until 2006 when it was taken private by a consortium led by Halifax Bank of Scotland and Sir Tom Hunter.

At 0930 GMT, the shares were trading at 200.01p in unconditional dealings.