Shares of Manchester-based investment firm AJ Bell soared about 35% on Friday in their market debut on the London Stock Exchange.

AJ Bell’s shares opened at 162p and quickly climbed to around 219p.

The shares were priced at 160p in their IPO that valued the company at £651 million.

The IPO will raise £169.3 million for the selling shareholders.

AJ Bell CEO Andy Bell said: “The IPO is a significant milestone for the business and I see it as firing the starting gun on our next phase of growth, which I’m massively excited about leading the business through.

“The demand for our IPO from both blue chip institutions and our own customers was a real endorsement of our business and the market opportunities that lie ahead of us and I’m pleased to welcome our new shareholders on board.”