Updated

Investors in vacuum cleaner retailer, Godfreys, and one of its early pioneers, have cleaned up in a strong debut on the stock market.

Godfreys shares gained 10 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to end their first day of trade at $2.85, valuing the company at almost $115 million.

Investors paid $2.75 per share as part of the company’s $75 million initial public offering.

The result is a windfall for Godfrey’s largest shareholder John Johnson, 96, who partnered with Godfrey Cohen in 1936 to expand the company across Australia.

Johnson holds more than eight million shares, or around 20 per cent of the company, which is now valued at $23 million.

The strong first day of trading came on an otherwise weak day for the share market, which dropped by about a quarter of a per cent.

Godfreys claims to be the world’s largest vacuum cleaner retailer, with 209 stores across Australia and New Zealand.

The company was founded during the Depression in 1931 by Cohen, who sold vacuum cleaners in his father’s furniture shop.

Godfreys conducted the market listing to help fund its continued expansion.

“The markets we service are expected to experience long term growth as the number of Australian households increases by an estimated 38 per cent between 2010 and 2031,” chairman, Rod Walker, said in November.

AAP