Online hotel booking company CNG Travel closed 1.5p down on its flotation price of £1.03 in London yesterday, but its price jumped comfortably ahead again in after-hours trading.

The Kenmare, Co Kerry-based operation became the third Irish company to go public this year when it raised £22.1 million (€33.23 million) on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) yesterday.

The company placed 21.47 million new shares and 342,000 existing shares at £1.03 sterling. Small volumes changed hands throughout the day, and a total of 1.75 million shares were traded in all.

The company touched a low of £1.005 and a high of £1.06 before it closed at £1.015. However, the stock continued to trade after hours and had jumped back up to £1.06 by late yesterday afternoon.

The comparatively large number of trades allied to the low volumes indicated that the business was done mainly by small shareholders.

CNG has a number of small retail equity holders, many of whom held the 342,000 existing shares that were floated yesterday.

CNG will use £4.2 million of the money raised to buy out the remaining 20 per cent of its majority-owned US subsidiary, Tzell.

The company will use £5.5 million to repay loans and £7.9 million will be used for working capital. The rest will cover flotation costs, directors' loans and other expenses.

Menolly Homes, the construction group, owns 30 per cent of CNG. The company handles online hotel reservations for travel agents and consumers.

It is currently rolling out its own software, TLC, to four of the five biggest travel agents in the US.