By Lars Mucklejohn
Employees at computer firm Raspberry Pi are poised to enjoy an up to £68m windfall from the company’s float on the London stock market in the coming weeks.
According to a London Stock Exchange filing, the Cambridge-based firm’s employee incentive scheme controls a roughly 13.6 per cent stake in Raspberry Pi.
If the firm achieves the £500m IPO valuation it is reportedly seeking, the employee shares would be worth an average of up to £660,000 for each of its 103 staff members when converted into ordinary shares.
The final figure will likely be diluted by Raspberry Pi issuing new shares, while employees must also pay to exercise the share options.
Eben Upton, founder and chief executive of Raspberry Pi, would have a stake worth roughly £11m from his 2.2 per cent holding if the firm achieves its target valuation.
The news, first reported by The Telegraph, comes as the government cheers on Raspberry Pi’s choice of London over New York as a boost for the capital’s beleaguered bourse.
Just 23 firms floated in London last year – the slowest period for IPOs since the financial crisis – with 2024 also seeing precious few IPOs. Several big names have recently snubbed the London Stock Exchange for the higher valuations and deeper pool of capital across the pond.
The government previously failed to convince Cambridge-based chip firm Arm to list in the capital last year despite a major charm offensive. Arm’s shares have soared nearly 82 per cent since it floated on New York’s tech-friendly Nasdaq in September.
The firm currently has a market capitalisation of $114.8bn (£90.6bn), which would make it the fifth-biggest stock on the FTSE 100 if it were listed in London.
The government and regulators are now racing to implement plans to make London a more attractive listing venue. These include overhauling the Financial Conduct Authority’s listing rules and requiring pension funds to disclose their equity holdings.
Upton attended a summit held by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt at his Buckinghamshire retreat last week that saw officials from the Treasury and LSE encourage British companies to IPO in the capital.
