Northern Irish developer Ross Home Builders (RHB) began trading on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) yesterday in a listing aimed at raising funds for future developments.
The company, which counts 3i as an investor, has a market valuation of £5.5 million (€8.05 million) after listing 891.6 million shares at 0.6 pence apiece. Its original shareholders hold 79.3 per cent of the stock.
"The market in Northern Ireland shows very good growth prospects for Ross Home Builders and today's addition to the AIM market will help the group raise its profile and have access to capital to develop its land bank," said Simon Ross, the builder's managing director.
The average price of a house in Northern Ireland increased by more than £14,500 last year, or by £40 a day. House-price inflation in the region was 13.2 per cent in 2005, or more than four times that of the UK, according to the company. In the 12 months to the middle of this year, prices rose by £600 a week.
RHB aims to continue making a development profit of between 25 and 35 per cent a year by increasing the value of properties it acquires. The company buys "brownfield sites" or sites near urban areas that have previously been built on. It typically purchases land that already has some form of planning approval.
