Beyond Meat: Shares in vegan burger company double on stock market debut

Company backed by Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio sees biggest share surge of any debut listing since 2008

Plant based burgers are growing in popularity with consumers in both Europe and North America (Beyond Meat)

Shares in Beyond Meat doubled on Thursday when the vegan burger company made its stock market debut.

The 10-year-old business raised $240 million, selling 9.6 million shares at $25 each.

The value of those shares rose to $59.47 by mid-afternoon.

Beyond Meat’s share surge was the biggest of any debut listing since 2008, according to Bloomberg.

“It really is a wonderful feeling to be able to welcome people in who have helped this brand,” Ethan Brown, the company’s CEO, said.

His company is the first maker of vegan “meat” to go public, according to Renaissance Capital.

Its plant based burgers have a cult following in the US. The brand also sells its products in the UK, Israel, Canada and Italy.

Its IPO comes as the alternative meat business booms in the US and UK.

US sales of plant-based meats jumped 42 per cent between March 2016 and March 2019, according to Nielsen,

Sales of traditional meat jumped one per cent in the same space of time.

In the UK, sales of alternative meat rose by 18 per cent in the last 12 months, while sales of traditional meat dropped by 2 per cent.

Beyond Meat has also attracted celebrity investors like Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio and sells to 30,000 supermarkets, schools and stores in the US and abroad.

But it is yet to make an annual profit and lost $30m last year.

The company is also facing competition from other brands, such as Impossible Foods, as the alternative meat sector grows.

In documents sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Beyond Meat has said it will invest $40m (£30.6) to $50m (£38m) in manufacturing facilities.

The business will also invest $50m (£38m) to $60m (£46m) in sales.

Additional reporting by agencies