ust over one quarter of Interactive Investor clients sold their whole allocation of Royal Mail (RMG) shares on the first day of trading, according to data collected by the stockbroker.
In total 26% of Interactive Investor users chose to sell out of the postal service on Friday 11 October, just one day after share allocations were announced by the government.
The best price obtained by sellers was 459p, which was hit at 16:19, while the maximum gross profit made was £292.25. This could not have been any higher because all investors who applied to take part in the offer and asked for £10,000 worth or less received the same allocation of £749 worth of shares.
If private investors had applied for anything over £10,000 they received no allocation at all, prompting some analysts to compile lists of alternatives for UK income investors.
Only 7% of Interactive Investor users topped up shares in the company, while 93% trimmed their allocation.
Rebecca O'Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said Friday had been "far and away the busiest trading day ever", with over half of the day's trades in Royal Mail Group.
"Scores of our customers had traded Royal Mail shares within the first minute of the market opening and secured some of the highest prices of the day. Trading was continuous and despite original fears Royal Mail shares might have been temporarily suspended as a result of volumes, the stock been tradable online throughout - a major feat for market makers.
"Our sell-to-buy ratio finished the day at 13:1, but we have seen some significant purchases. When the company is fully listed and the price has stabilised we expect to see long-term income investors looking to buy," she added.
By midday on Monday the shares were up 1.3% to 460p.
Over on the Interactive Investor discussion boards users were still complaining of technical glitches with a number of trading systems. In terms of buy or sell moves, many had decided to wait until Tuesday when the shares are no longer restricted and full trading resumes.
