On Wednesday, British money transfer business Wise was valued at around £8 billion in a direct listing in London, steering clear of the blows that have lately hit tech businesses such as Deliveroo. Wise saw trading in its shares settle at £8.00 by the latter half of the morning, reaching as high as £8.27 as official trading began.

 The fintech business joined the London Stock Exchange via a direct listing, a typically unusual listing route that saw Wise’s shares posted for trading on the index without a reference price. The debut price was settled via a long-drawn-out early opening auction. By 11:20 am, over 43 million shares worth £350 million had changed hands. 

The positive start to trading means that Wise is London’s biggest float of the year and the capital’s largest ever tech listing. The fintech business has been profitable since 2017. This year, its sale hit £421 million, with the app moving £54.4 billion across borders for 6 million customers. Before this most recent valuation, Wise was valued at between £5 billion and £6 billion in April. 

Wise’s stock market debut has been described as a triumph for British fintech.