CAB Payments Holdings PLC suffered a tough start to life on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, with shares falling during a tricky day for equities.

Shares in CAB, which provides cross-border payments and foreign exchange services, closed at 303.00 pence on Thursday, down 9.6% from its 335p initial public offering price. The FTSE 250 Index, which houses firms of a similar size to CAB, fell 2.6%, with markets roiled by interest rate worries.

CAB has a market capitalisation of £770.1 million, down from £851.4 million on admission.

CAB raised £333.1 million from its float. There is the option for an over-allotment worth £50.0 million, which will see its principal shareholder, Helios Funds, sell some of its shares.

‘Today marks the start of the next exciting chapter in the company’s history and we are delighted that CAB Payments has begun trading as a public company on the London Stock Exchange. We look forward to pursuing our strategy of delivering long-term sustainable growth and cementing our position as a payments and forex partner of choice for blue-chip customers transacting in emerging markets, ultimately supporting our mission to connect more people in traditionally hard-to-reach regions with global financial infrastructure, enhancing financial inclusion and strengthening local economies,’ Chief Executive Bhairav Trivedi said.

It has been a tough year for initial public offerings in London.

Kew Soda Ltd, better known as WE Soda, in June cancelled its planned initial public offering in London, with the soda ash producer explaining that UK investors are ‘extremely cautious about the IPO market’.

‘This extreme investor caution in London meant that we were unable to arrive at a valuation that we believe reflects our unique financial and operating characteristics,’ Chief Executive Alasdair Warren said.

WE Soda’s initial IPO announcement provided a boost to the City, which has recently seen high-profile names such as Arm turn to New York. However, the decision to pull the IPO is a blow to the London market.

Numis Corp on Wednesday cautioned on the ‘effective closure of the IPO market’.

‘Macro-economic concerns have resulted in a prolonged period of exceptionally low deal volumes across the market,’ it said.

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