Brokers braced for last-minute rush for Royal Mail shares Daniel Gee, stockbroker at Cornhill Capital, said he had seen interest from retail investors more than double in the last few days. "Demand has been much higher than any other issue we have done in the past few years," he said. We are probably seeing the last minute rush kicking in as early as today [Friday]. Retail interest has more than doubled in the last couple of days. Barclays Stockbrokers' Chris Stevenson said the IPO had already attracted five times the interest of previous equity flotations, adding that he expected the high level of interest to persist right up to the offer closure deadline. Gavin Oldham, chief executive of online broker the Share Centre, said he was "heartened" that the Royal Mail float had generated the same kind of "buzz" as the string of privatisations throughout the 1980s and 1990s. "We certainly expect people to come in increasing numbers over the weekend," he added. Uncertainty stemming from the US government shutdown could further contribute to a last-minute rush, according to David Scott, senior stockbroker at Redmayne-Bentley. "Our experience tends to shows that some people leave this sort of investment decision until late on, preferring to see what the markets are doing before making any last minute decisions, particularly with the uncertainty coming out of America at the moment," he said. Investors were given just 12 days to apply for shares in the 500-year-old company at a price of between 260p and 330p each, with the offer closing at midnight on Tuesday. The Government is offering to sell a 52.2pc stake plus a further 7.8pc - or "over allotment" - if demand is high. Staff are also being giving 10pc of the shares for free. It could see the government's stake in the company fall to as little as 30pc.