A cannabis venture, which counts David Beckham among its investors, has seen its share price rise more than four-fold during its London stock market debut.
Cellular Goods, which wants to sell skincare and topical creams using biosynthetic cannabinoids, saw shares climb from their offer price of 5p to above 20p when the opening price was declared on Friday.
The flotation, which was 13-times oversubscribed, was aimed at raising £13m for development work and expansion after City rules were changed last year to allow cannabis-linked listings for medicinal ventures.
Sky News revealed earlier this month that Cellular would be the first company of its kind to take advantage of the relaxation of the criteria through the Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The success of the launch means Beckham’s holding has surged in value as a result.
The former Manchester United and England footballer’s DB Ventures vehicle had a 5% stake in advance of the listing.
The surge in value of the stock on Friday left Cellular’s market capitalisation at more than £100m – based on a share price of 20p.
Shares were changing hands for 23p later in the morning.
Its chief executive, Alexis Abraham, said ahead of the market open: “We are delighted with the strong support from a wide range of institutional and retail investors to build premium consumer products based on biosynthetic cannabinoids under the Cellular Goods brand.”
Senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Susannah Streeter, said of the stock’s performance: “With shares 13 times over-subscribed, initial demand for cannabinoid company Cellular Goods was always likely to be high and as trading has got under way it’s become a hot stock”.