Britain's largest bitcoin treasury company debuts on London's main stock market
The Smarter Web Company opened on London's main market on Tuesday in a shower of orange and black confetti, as the firm's boss reaffirmed his FTSE 100 ambitions.Smarter Web Company debuted with a share price of 43p. As of mid-morning, shares were trading at 44p. 'I'm truly confident in making it into the FTSE 250 by September [the third quarterly rebalance of 2026],' Andrew Webley, chief executive of Smarter Web Company told This is Money, as the company rang the London Stock Exchange opening bell.'Without guaranteeing it, this year I hope we can make it into the FTSE 250… now we are on the London Stock Exchange, we can get on the 250, and then we can get on the FTSE 100,' he said.The company launched in 2009 and has origins in web design, but its strategy has recently shifted towards holding bitcoin on its balance sheet.Webley's firm has spent some £221million of investor capital buying bitcoin as part of its strategy as a bitcoin treasury company. Webley (left centre) says he hopes the Smarter Web Company will eventually enter the FTSE 100Its bitcoin holdings were purchased at an average price of just over $111,000 each.Bitcoin was trading at $78,442 per token on Tuesday, having fallen from its peak of around $124,000 in October last year.The firm now owns 2,674 bitcoin, and Webley says he plans to keep buying the tokens in the future. Smarter Web Company last bought bitcoin on 22 January at $90,289 per token. After listing on Aquis in April last year, the firm surged in value, rising to a market cap of over £1billion, before dropping back to a current market cap of just over £150million. It is now trading on London's main market under the ticker 'SWC' with a market cap of around £118million. The firm also trades on the OTCQB Venture Market in the US, and has an unsponsored depositary listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. A large chunk of guests at the LSE event were investors in the firm. 'I've been to lots of opening ceremonies, but I've never seen anyone invite shareholders,' one guest told Webley. Webley told This is Money: 'The business should be run for the benefit of the shareholders. I wanted to list my own business because I wanted a business that I could invest in was following this strategy.'We'll probably be the most volatile stock in the UK. But if you want a stock that is going to go up, you do need volatility… that's why we put so much effort into explaining the negatives, we're doing our best on that and most of our shareholder understand that, but they're happy with the risk reward.' The Smarter Web Company opened on London's main market on TuesdayA number of firms have launched public offerings as bitcoin treasury companies - a format that Webley pioneered in the UK, inspired by the strategy of the aptly named US company Strategy. However, this rush of companies buying and holding bitcoin as part of their business strategy has saturated a market that SWC started off in alone. In an announcement, Webley said: 'We remain committed to building a British success story that contributes meaningfully to the UK economy, showcases the ambition of the UK's entrepreneurial spirit, and demonstrates the role that Bitcoin, as a form of digital capital, can play in supporting the growth of modern businesses.'Speaking on Tuesday to amassed shareholders - many wearing Smarter's hallmark orange - at the opening ceremony event at the London Stock Exchange, Webley said: 'I'm very proud of what we've achieved together so far. I'm looking forward to the future very much… we are only just getting started.'
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Britain's largest bitcoin treasury company debuts on London's main stock market
