Rocky start for Williams after floatation launch

(GMM) Williams on Wednesday had a troubled start to its life as a publicly listed company. At the morning launch of the British team's 28 per cent shareholding on the Frankfurt stock exchange, shares sold for 25 euros. But the stock had declined to just over 24 euros shortly afterwards, the Bloomberg financial news service reported.

"It's always brave to come to the market but being brave is what we do," team chairman Adam Parr commented.

He said the value decline in early trading was not "overly" concerning.

An unnamed Frankfurt-based trader told Reuters: "This is what I expected and I think that it will not get any easier for Williams."