Saatchi floats despite delay

ADVERTISING gurus Maurice and Charles Saatchi raised £3m each in cash today after the flotation of their creative agency got away late and at a discount to what had been expected.

Shares in M&C Saatchi began trading on Aim at lunchtime priced at 125p, valuing the agency at £68m.

Before a last-minute glitch last night that delayed the start of trading by fouranda-half hours today, the City had been told to expect the shares to be priced at between 143p and 168p, giving the company a tag of up to £87m. As a result, the group's five founders - who previously had 14% holdings in the agency - will be receiving less money than they had hoped.

The five, including the Saatchi brothers, have raised £15m in cash between them and retain a stake in the business worth £25m. About another £7.5m of shares are held by other members of the firm's management.

It is understood Saatchi's broker Lehman Brothers delayed the pricing after an 11th-hour legal claim was made against the agency by a disaffected sponsorship business. Any liability arising from the claim had not been included in the pathfinder prospectus, and it is thought Lehman had to contact investors to explain the situation.

The shares were at 127p soon after conditional trading started.