Edinburgh-based insurer Standard Life has had a good start to life as a public company as shares issued on its first day of trading rose 5%, earning the former mutual a place in the FTSE 100 index.

The shares opened at GBP2.30 on the London Stock Exchange and rose to GBP2.45, before closing at GBP2.42. Standard Life chief executive Sandy Crombie said: We’ve missed the entire World Cup over the last month as we’ve been doing our roadshows. But, to use football parlance, we’ve got a result. There has been enormous support for both the retail and institutional offerings.

Members and employees would own 75% of the company, Standard Life said. Eligible members of Standard Life were issued at least 185 shares each and many took advantage of a 5% discount to the IPO price.

Recent stock market fluctuations had led analysts to question the timing of Standard Life’s offer, which the insurer had to scale back from its original range of between GBP2.40 and GBP2.90 indicated in April.