Palandri toasts successful debut

Shares in Palandri, the Western Australian wine producer, made a confident debut yesterday on the company's introduction to London's Alternative Investment Market.

Shares in Palandri, the Western Australian wine producer, made a confident debut yesterday on the company's introduction to London's Alternative Investment Market.

The wine maker raised about £3.3m from a placing at 28p a share prior to its listing and yesterday its shares traded as high as 38p before settling at 33.5p.

About 13 million shares were placed at 28p a share, representing about 23 per cent of the total shares it will have in issue.

Palandri said it had decided to list in London to accelerate its growth in the international marketplace.

The company was established in 1999 and its winery is based in the heart of the Margaret River region in Western Australia. About 35 per cent of its wine is sold in Europe and the UK through the supermarket chains Somerfield and Co-op and the grocer Londis.

The United States accounts for about 15 per cent and the rest goes to its home market.

Palandri's non-executive chairman, Brian Moritz, is a director of Metal Bulletin and five AIM-listed companies. Its chief executive Darrel Jarvis has more than 35 years' management and professional experience in the agribusiness industry.

The group's shares were supposed to have started trading on Monday but their debut was delayed for technical reasons.