<p>Countryside Properties saw its shares rise 6.6% in early trading on Wednesday (February 17th) as it made its debut on the London stock exchange.</p> <p>Countryside shares were trading at 239.8p early on, ahead of the 225p initial public offering price. The IPO price had been set at 225p last week giving the firm a market capitalisation around £1.01 billion.</p> <p>At the time the offer price was announced, Ian Sutcliffe, group ceo at Countryside, said: "We have been extremely pleased with the investor response to our offer, in what has been a challenging period for the wider markets. Our differentiated business model, and the future growth opportunity it represents, has been well understood by investors. We now look forward to delivering our plans in both the Partnerships and Housebuilding divisions, in a positive trading environment for the sector."</p> <p>The successful flotation will see the company raise £114 million to pay off debt and invest in its developments at Acton (London), Hazel End (Herts), Beaulieu and Rayleigh (both Essex).</p> <p>The company was founded in 1958 by Alan Cherry and was listed between 1972 and 2005. It has been owned by private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management since 2013.</p>