Raspberry Pi founder Eben Upton has sold £1.8 million worth of shares in the Cambridge-based microcomputer company, reducing his stake just over a year after its high-profile stock market debut. The sale came as a 365-day lock-up period for directors and senior executives expired this week.
Upton, 47, who launched Raspberry Pi in 2008, was joined by the company’s chief financial officer, Richard Boult, who offloaded £455,000 worth of shares. The transactions were disclosed in filings to the London Stock Exchange and took place on Tuesday. Raspberry Pi confirmed the sales, noting that both executives had acted “for financial planning reasons.”
The sales triggered a modest reaction in the market, with shares falling 14p, or 3 per cent, to 444p on Wednesday. While such disposals are common after IPO lock-up periods end, investor sentiment often sours when senior leaders sell, as it can be interpreted as a lack of confidence in future growth prospects.
In Upton’s case, the shares sold represented around 14 per cent of his holding. He retains a 2.5 million share stake worth approximately £11 million. Boult still owns 476,000 shares, currently valued at just over £2 million, after selling a little more than a fifth of his stake.
Despite a 33 per cent decline in the company’s share price since the start of 2025, early backers remain comfortably ahead. Raspberry Pi floated in June 2024 at 280p, making it London’s biggest IPO in nearly a year at the time, with an initial market value of £541 million. Today, the firm is valued at just under £900 million, enough to qualify for a spot in the FTSE 250 index.
Founded by Upton when he was director of studies at St John’s College, Cambridge, Raspberry Pi was born out of frustration with the dwindling number of computer science applicants. The company began by producing low-cost, credit-card-sized computers designed to help children learn to code, and it has since expanded into industrial applications, supplying its computing boards for use in security systems, ventilation units, and even self-service coffee machines.
While the company has retained its educational roots, its customer base has diversified, helping it generate revenues of $259.5 million in 2024, although this marked a slight decline from the £265.8 million reported in 2023. Pre-tax profit for 2024 stood at $16.3 million, down from $38.2 million the year before, which the company attributed to “industry-wide destocking” following a period of exceptional demand.
Upton is not the only co-founder to have cashed in. His wife, Liz Upton, who co-founded Raspberry Pi and headed up its marketing and communications team until her departure in November, sold £248,000 worth of shares last September and a further £186,000 on New Year’s Eve.
Other directors not bound by the same lock-up conditions began selling shares from September 2024 onwards.
While the recent share disposals may have spooked some investors, Raspberry Pi remains one of the UK tech sector’s more credible public market success stories. The company has managed to scale while maintaining profitability, and its strategic pivot into commercial and industrial sectors suggests room for continued growth.
For now, however, the share sales are a reminder that even the most mission-driven founders eventually choose to realise some of their paper wealth — especially after a strong stock market run.
