Undaunted by wobbling world markets, Birmingham’s reborn local stock exchange has launched its first flotation following a six-month hiatus. Teamworks Karting, set up by a former Forex trader and an ex-City lawyer, hopes to raise £1m, which should capitalise the leisure business at just £3.9m when its shares start trading by online auction in March. Investbx, as the publicly funded Birmingham exchange is called, aims to list another 10-15 companies annually over the next few years.

If it succeeds, Investbx will be hailed as a visionary experiment other cities should copy. If it fails, it will be decried as a manifestation of public sector folie de grandeur.