IPO activity in London has remained stagnant in the first half of the year while proceeds raised from European public launches have surged, new figures reveal.
Firms in the UK raised £500m in initial public offering proceeds in the first half of the year, identical to the figure raised over the same period in 2023, according to the IPO Watch EMEA report from accountancy firm PwC.
London’s markets have had only a handful of prominent listings to celebrate so far in 2024, with Cambridge-based budget computer maker Raspberry Pi’s £166m IPO a notable highlight.
The UK’s financial regulator recently announced reforms to listing rules aimed at simplifying the process and responsibilities of a London listing. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) hopes to encourage increased activity from the rule change set for 29 July.
It comes after the UK has faced criticism for not doing enough to incentivise firms to list in London. This week, for example, pharmaceutical firm Destiny Pharma announced it would delist from AIM to pursue a “larger pool of capital” elsewhere.
PwC’s report found that while the UK saw no improvement in IPO fundraising, the first half of the year saw proceeds from European IPOs more than quadruple compared with the same period in 2023.
European listings generated €11.4bn (£9.6bn) in the first half of the year, compared with €2.5bn in the first half of 2023.
Prominent listings in Europe so far this year include cloud technology firm Planisware in Paris and private equity group CVC Capital in Amsterdam.
However, the report noted that the UK has seen some of the largest secondary market transactions globally, specifically the National Grid and Haleon follow-ons of £7bn and £2.4bn, respectively.
“After a two-year pause, the European IPO market has seen a resurgence in the first half of the year. Private equity-backed IPOs have played a prominent role in this recovery, with over half of the top 10 IPOs being PE-backed,” said Vhernie Manickavasagar, capital markets partner at PwC UK.
“The IPO pipeline appears healthy well into 2025, indicating sustained recovery is underway.”