Boohoo.com makes strong market debut

LONDON, England - - Shares in British online fashion retailer boohoo.com jumped by more than 50 percent in debut trade on London's AIM market on Friday, giving the firm a value of around 870 million pounds ($1.45 billion).

The shares opened 70 percent above its 50 pence offer price at 85p, before settling at around 78p, as investors continued to show their appetite for internet retail stocks.

Boohoo.com is one of a host of retail businesses to have listed or announced plans to do so this year, driven by recovering consumer confidence and fundamental changes wrought on the industry by e-commerce and shifting shopping habits.

Last month online domestic appliances retailer AO World saw its shares surge on its market debut, while boohoo's larger rival, ASOS, is a prime example of how highly investors rate such retailers well-positioned to cash in on shoppers' growing penchant for shopping via mobiles and tablets.

Boohoo, which is based in Manchester, northern England and is majority-owned by its founders, the Kamani family, designs, sources, markets and sells own-brand clothing, shoes and accessories through its website to a core market of 16- to 24-year-old consumers in the UK and globally.

Its sales rose 70 percent to 91.9 million pounds in the 10 months to December 2013, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 188 percent to 10.1 million pounds.