Ocado is to host a meeting for leading unconnected analysts next week, after facing a barrage of criticism in the run up to its float.

The etail grocer, which started unconditional trading on the stock market on Monday, will host analysts such as Collins Stewart and Oriel Securities at its Hatfield head office and depot on Tuesday.

During the run up to the float, Ocado did not engage with any analyst that was not on its ticket, which many commentators said was not common practice. Many unconnected analysts criticised the original proposed valuation of more than £1bn as it has not yet made a pre-tax profit, and Ocado accused them of not understanding its model.

Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner told Retail Week last week that it was now ready to engage with unconnected analysts and previously “the demands on our time” meant “it wasn’t possible to spend time with everybody”.

Ocado floated at 180p after slashing its original valuation, and on its first official day of trading on Monday closed at 160p. Ocado said it is taking a long-term view of its share price and is confident of its future share price growth.

Separately, Ocado has appointed Matthew Knight as head of marketing, insight and communications, reporting to head of retail Jon Rudoe. He joined earlier this year as a consultant and prior to that was at loyalty firm Nectar.