Clydesdale IPO set despite falling markets

National Australia Bank has set the price of Clydesdale Bank between £1.5bn and £2bn ahead of its planned initial public offering next month.

National Australia Bank has set the price of Clydesdale Bank between £1.5bn and £2bn ahead of its planned initial public offering next month.

Shares are expected to be priced between 175p and 235p however analysts have warned that volatile stock markets could hamper demand and push trading values down.

NAB took over Clydesdale in 1987 and confirmed today it still plans go ahead with a February sale of 25% of Clydesdale shares, with existing NAB investors retaining the remaining 75%.

However it admitted that if institutional investor appetite for the shares was insufficient it could scale back the number of shares sold to the market.

Shares in the banking sector have plummeted in January already amid volatile markets spooked by falling oil prices, spiralling markets in China, rising rates in the US and weaker than expected economic data in the UK.

Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are down 13% and 11% respectively this month, while the FTSE 100 is down by almost 7%.

Shawbrook’s shares meanwhile are down 11% and Aldermore’s have fallen 21%.