Well, they got it away, but there won’t have been too many champagne corks being popped in Ocado’s Hatfield headquarters on Wednesday morning.

The market doesn’t lie and to have to cut the share price at float from an original target of up to 275p to just 180p shows that the few in the City who were unconnected to the sale and said the original pricing of the IPO was absurdly ambitious were right.

It’s three founders’ one-eyed belief in the Ocado model is both their biggest strength and their biggest failing. Their refusal to countenance any questioning of their model, their hiring of almost every bank in the Square Mile to push the float and their attempts to portray

UK investors as naïve when it comes to hi-tech stocks compared with their US counterparts didn’t do anything to help their image as, well, three ex-Goldman bankers.

Now the pressure will be on to deliver and despite their ambitious expansion plans the focus has to be on outlining a clear pathway to profitability for their new investors. And more clarity is needed on how Ocado is going to deal with Waitrose when it is allowed to start selling online within the M25 next year. Waitrose chief Mark Price is hugely ambitious and will be fully intending to make the most of the freedom to trade in Ocado’s core market.

Take-up of the shares among Ocado’s customers has been much lower than hoped, but that might not be a bad thing. After all, if the shares perform badly, it won’t exactly endear the company to shoppers-turned-investors, especially as the road to profits is going to be a long one.

Far better they remain customers alone and continue to enjoy its excellent service. Ocado is a great service based on great technology. The bigger question which remains unanswered is whether it is a great business.

Realism required

News that work is going to restart on Land Securities’ redevelopment of Leeds city centre is welcome. If physical retail is to fight back against the online challenge, modern shopping centres offering quality space are essential.

But Leeds might still be the exception rather than the rule. If we’re going to see other less favoured centres come off ice, realism is needed. Realism from local councils on their expectations, realism from developers on the rents they want to achieve and realism from department stores that giveaway deals won’t be achievable in the future.

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