Luxury shoemaker Jimmy Choo has stepped out into the London stock market with its shares closely watched on their first day of trading.
They did not jump, but they did not stumble either, staying close to the 141 pence opening price.
The interest from even the least fashion-conscious of bankers is because it is being seen as a test of whether upcoming share offerings can withstand the economic weakness that has roiled markets in recent days.
There has been a flurry of cancelled listings across Europe, including British bank Aldermore, the French energy services company Spie and Italian cosmetics maker Intercos.
Jimmy Choo is in one of the strongest segments of the luxury goods industry, prompting Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC to take a 4.6 percent stake.
However, its growth potential has been presented to investors as hinging partly on expansion in China, where rivals Prada and LVMH have been hit by weakening demand in recent months.
Such concerns over global growth, including a string of weak German data, have dragged down equity markets in recent weeks.
with Reuters
