Zutec first Irish firm to float in Stockholm

TECHNOLOGY company Zutec has become the first Irish business to list shares on the Nasdaq First North exchange in Stockholm.

Ahead of the IPO, Zutec raised €5m from new investors and listed with a market capitalisation of €17m.

Zutec’s main business is software used in the construction sector to manage projects by architects, engineers and construction staff. Early backers included Enterprise Ireland.

The Nasdaq North Market in Stockholm is a sister company of the big technologyfocused New York exchange of the same name.

Zutec Holdings CEO Brendan O’Riordan said the decision to list in Sweden was driven by the technology focus of the exchange there.

“We opted for a listing on Nasdaq First North because it is a specialist market for fast-growing technology companies with a pool of tech-savvy private and institutional investors who focus on companies like Zutec,” he said.

Elsewhere, a brief break in global trade squalls helped buoy stocks and lifted the US dollar on Thursday, though the risk they could return at any time also meant investors were sticking close to ultra-safe government bonds.

After three days of losses triggered by political uncertainty, equities on Wall Street opened higher, encouraged by economic data showing the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week.

In Europe, however, concerns that radical political groups in Italy could join forces to put control of the government in the hands of far-right leaders hit sentiment.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.70pc and MSCI’s gauge of global stocks gained 0.30pc.