Burberry has quiet stock market debut

Burberry's debut on the London Stock Exchange has got off to a quiet start.

While shares across the market rebounded from yesterday's decline, Burberry remained unchanged at 230p as conditional trading got underway.

The price was set last night as the label shrugged aside fears over stock market volatility to confirm its debut.

The price is at the bottom of Burberry's target range and values the business at £1.15bn (€1.8bn).

But chief executive Rose Marie Bravo said last night: "We are pleased with the response to the partial flotation of Burberry in such challenging stock market conditions."

Speculation had been growing that Burberry would get cold feet despite its insistence plans remained on track.

Focus Wickes, Yell and drinks and snacks group C&C have all pulled flotations within the past fortnight.

But analysts believe the fact Burberry is only selling up to a quarter of its shares meant it was more likely to make it to market.

Burberry has sold 22.5% of its share capital, raising £258m (€405m).

The group's parent, Argos-owner GUS, is keeping hold of the remaining 77.5% stake and has agreed not to sell any shares for 180 days.