MARKET REPORT: Raspberry Pi in festive temper as shares soar

The traditional Santa Rally may not have arrived, but DIY computer maker Raspberry Pi most certainly has had a fantastic time, rising to more than £1bn in value.

The FTSE 250 stock was on the march again yesterday and is up 74pc this month. 

Much of that has come since December 18, when it was revealed that America’s SW Investment Management had amassed a 3.59pc holding in the UK firm, which only listed in London six months ago.

Raspberry Pi made a strong debut on June 11 after its public offering at 280p a share, jumping to 385p at the close of trade that day. Since then, the stock – of which more than half is owned by just two holders – had been steadily rising before this month’s boost.

Raspberry Pi rose another 7pc, or 42p, to 640p, easing back after hitting a new intra-day peak of 721.5p, proving to investors that tech floats can work in London, albeit thanks to US influences.

Overall, the post-Christmas mood was mixed, though based on thin volumes. The FTSE 100 index closed 0.16pc, or 12.79 points, up at 8149.78, but the FTSE 250 ended down 0.4pc, or 82.86 points, at 20,488.65.

Among the minority of FTSE 100 gainers, Centrica was up 2.2pc, or 2.85p, at 131.85p as the British Gas-owner started buying back £300m of shares, which will take the total repurchase to £1.5bn since November 2022.

Energy firms were also up, with BP rising 1.1pc, or 4.2p, to 385.45p and Shell ahead 0.47pc, or 11.5p, at 2440.5p as oil prices held firm, supported by fresh economic stimulus measures from China.

But Anglo American fell 1.66pc, or 39.5p, to 2342p as Chile’s environmental regulator filed four charges against the Los Bronces copper mine.

Builder Taylor Wimpey was down 0.74pc, or 0.9p, at 120.6p with the sector troubled by mortgage rate concerns. But fellow builder Vistry rallied modestly, adding 2.83pc, or 15.5p, to close at 563p, having plunged 16pc on Christmas Eve after delivering an unseasonal profit warning – its third of the year.

Though the market was forgiving after the festive break, analysts were less so, with those at Irish broker Davy cutting their recommendation for Vistry to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform’. 

Also on the FTSE 250, Syncona rose 0.58pc, or 0.6p, to 103.2p as it revealed one of its investments, Achilles Therapeutics, had sold its technology assets to AstraZeneca for £9.5m. 

Syncona said its holding value in Achilles was £8.5m as of September 30, representing 0.7pc of its net asset value.

Among the small caps, Zenith Energy leapt 35.3pc, or 1.2p, to 4.6p encouraged by the latest ruling of the arbitral tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in the company’s case against Tunisia. 

The energy group is suing the Tunisian state for £500m claiming breach of trade agreements with the UK relating to the Sidi El Kilani and Ezzaouia concessions.

But Walker Crips lost 5.56pc, or 1p, closing at 17p as the London stockbroker and asset manager swung to a first half loss of £1.5m despite sales increasing by 2.3pc.