The demerged Bank of Georgia Group and Georgia Capital may have wished for a better debut day on the FTSE 250. Mounting worries among London Stock Exchange investors over the threat Italy’s political unrest poses to the eurozone meant a winning start was beyond reach.

Bank of Georgia Group (LN:BGEO) saw its share price fall 40.13% to GBP18.64 on May 29, while on May 30 it lost another 2.35% to GBP18.20 by 11:45 London time. Georgia Capital (LN: CGEO) started trading on May 29 at GBP11.00 and on May 30 by around the same time it was up to GBP11.30. Prior to the demerger, which means the two companies now trade separately on the premium listing segment of the official list of the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities, the group closed on May 25 with a share price of GBP31.13.

Bank of Georgia Group PLC comprises of retail banking and payment services, corporate investment banking and wealth management operations and banking operations in Belarus. JSC Bank of Georgia is the core entity of Bank of Georgia Group PLC and a leading universal Georgian bank, which says it is well positioned to benefit from the underpenetrated banking sector in Georgia through providing best in class services.

Kaha Kiknavelidze, Bank of Georgia Group PLC CEO commented in a press release: “I would like to congratulate and thank everyone who contributed to the smooth and successful demerger of BGEO Group PLC into two well-capitalised, liquid and independent businesses with significant opportunity to create value and reach further heights over the next few years. It is an exciting time for investors too, who now have an opportunity to make investment decisions based upon the individual merits of each of these businesses. As for Bank of Georgia Group PLC, with a strong macroeconomic environment and outlook supporting the Bank and its clients, our banking business continues to grow and we aim to leverage our capabilities to continue to deliver superior returns to our investors.”

Irakli Gilauri, Georgia Capital PLC Chairman and CEO said: “I am delighted to see that BGEO Group today completed its successful demerger, creating two distinct entities – Bank of Georgia Group PLC, a pure-play banking story, and Georgia Capital PLC, the only diversified investment vehicle in Georgia. Having grown our various businesses over the last 10 years into leading players in their respective sectors, this is the next logical step in our strategy, which has created three companies on the premium listing segment of the London Stock Exchange's main market.

“I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the business for creating this exciting opportunity and say thank you to all for their contribution in reaching this significant milestone in our history. We look forward to continuing, as Georgia Capital PLC, to create long-term value to our shareholders, while capitalising on Georgia’s fast-growing economy with opportunities in a number of underdeveloped sectors.”

JSC Bank of Georgia said it is the leading retail banking player in Georgia, serving around 2.4mn clients through the widest network of 277 retail branches, 842 ATMs and 2,825 Express Pay (self-service) terminals and a sales force of more than 3,000 people.

It is also a leading corporate lender in the country, accommodating more than 2,500 businesses in Georgia and playing its part in developing various sectors of the economy such as trade, energy, industry and tourism. The corporate banking additionally serves as the country’s leading trade finance business and provides leasing services through the bank’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Georgian Leasing Company.

JSC Bank of Georgia has also been active in asset and wealth management since 2005. Accommodating 1,438 local and international clients from 74 countries worldwide, its wealth management business provides private banking services to high net-worth individual clients and offers investment management products internationally through representative offices in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Great Britain.

Georgia Capital PLC comprises of Georgia Global Utilities, m2 Real Estate, Teliani Valley beverage business, Aldagi property and casualty insurance business and investments in two London Stock Exchange premium-listed companies – Bank of Georgia Group PLC and Georgia Healthcare Group PLC.