Following its first day on the London Stock Exchange, Hotel Chocolat shares have soared. The luxury chocolatier‘s share price grew by 28% from 148p to 190p on Tuesday.
The increase led to the retailer‘s market cap growing from £167m to an estimated £214m.
Hotel Chocolat raised £55.5m from its share sales. It plans to spend £12m on its 81 store across the UK and improve its online platform in addition to expanding the capacity of its Cambridge factory.
The remainder of the money will be divided between founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris who currently hold two thirds of the business.
Originally founded in 2003 under the name Choc Express, Hotel Chocolat now stands as a luxury brand rivalling chocolate retailer such as Thorntons. It claims to maintain a luxurious taste as well as brand image with its use of “more cocoa, less sugar”.
In addition to its store estate, Hotel Chocolat owns a cocoa plantation in St Lucia by an exclusive hotel. It also operates two restaurants in Leeds and London‘s Borough Market.
Hotel Chocolat currently has three stores in Denmark and is confident in its plans to expand into international markets in the future.
