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Hot line: Graham Howe, Orange's finance director (front), and Kurt Snook, managing director, celebrate as shares in the mobile company shot to 245p at start of trading compared with the offer price of 205p, writes Mary Fagan. The first 10 minutes saw almost 11 million shares traded, with the volume rising to 72 million in the two hours between 2.30pm and close of play, when the price had settled at 237.5p. Even top institutions received only 10 per cent of the shares they applied for. The flotation of 25 per cent of Orange raises pounds 624m, valuing the company at pounds 2.5bn.

Investment Column, page 22

Photograph: Kalpesh Lathigra