Quickmart listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on Thursday and its shares finished the first trading day 19 per cent higher, creating KSh5.6bn of paper wealth for its shareholders.

The stock opened at KSh10 per share and settled at an average of KSh8.90, with 9.7 million shares changing hands and a total traded value of KSh86.2 million.

The IPO price had been set at KSh7.50 per share, meaning the closing price represented a capital gain of KSh1.40 per unit and lifted the company’s valuation from KSh30bn to KSh35.6bn, ranking it as the 19th largest listed firm by market capitalisation.

“Since it was oversubscribed in the IPO, we expected to see some of the demand spill over into the secondary market upon listing, boosting the share price,” said Wesley Manambo, senior research associate at Standard Investment Bank. “Foreign investors whose demand was unmet when they received only half of their applications in the IPO are also coming into the secondary market, and could help sustain the price in the near term.”

The 19 per cent rise exceeded the two per cent gain recorded by Kenya Pipeline Company when it listed in March, but was lower than the 44 per cent jump recorded by Family Bank in June.

IPO shares are normally exempt from the usual 10 per cent price-movement limit on the first day, giving investors the chance to book outsized gains immediately, and the listing was viewed as a test of the market as an exit route for private-equity owners such as Adenia Partners and for family-owned firms considering a public offering.

Adenia Partners and the founders sold two billion shares – half of their holdings – in the IPO, receiving KSh15bn from the transaction.

The offer attracted 18,492 applications for 2.45bn shares, an oversubscription of 22.7 per cent, and was underwritten by global funds led by the International Finance Corporation, which took a 6.49 per cent stake.

Anchor investors MOBILIST, 337 Frontier and RWC LLC together hold 864.2m shares, representing 21.6 per cent of Quickmart.

After Thursday’s trading the shares had gained KSh1.21bn in value, bringing the total value of the float to KSh7.7bn.

The biggest beneficiaries were the original shareholders, who own two billion shares through Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited, a vehicle that includes Adenia, chief executive officer Peter Kang’iri and the founders of Quickmart and Tumaini supermarkets.

The Mauritius-based private-equity fund and its co-investors hold an effective 25.4 per cent (1.02bn shares) at listing, with the value of that holding rising by KSh1.42bn to KSh9.04bn.

The Kinuthia family’s 638m shares, a 16 per cent stake, increased in value by KSh893.2m to reach KSh5.68bn.

The Tumaini founders’ stake appreciated by KSh336m to a total of KSh2.14bn.

Peter Kang’iri, who retained a 2.7 per cent stake after selling half of his shares in the IPO, booked a paper gain of KSh151.2m, valuing his holding at KSh961.2m.

Kenyan and East African Community investors who were allocated 1.04bn shares saw the value of those shares rise by KSh1.46bn to KSh9.3bn.

Foreign investors recorded a gain of KSh329.3m on their 235.2m shares, a 5.9 per cent stake, which were valued at KSh2.1bn at the close of trading.