Just 23 initial public offers (IPOs) took place on the London Stock Exchange in 2023, around half the number from the year before and the second lowest in almost three decades.
New funds raised via IPOs totalled £998 million, down by 36% on the previous year, according to LSE statistics, and down 88% compared to 2021 and over 90% down on 2020.
The last time there were fewer IPOs in London was 1995 when the LSE records began and the AIM market was launched.
The worst year for London IPOs?
Going back through the data, the last time there were fewer than 30 London flotations in a year was 2009.
This is also the first time in the new millennium that less than £1 billion has been raised from new issues.
The 2023 total of 23 IPOs compares to 45 in 2022 when £1.56 billion was raised, and the bumper 2021 when 126 companies raised £8.1 billion – although the likes of Made.com, In The Style and Parsley Box have shown it was far from a glorious year for anyone apart from the firms that got their floats away at valuations elevated by pandemic growth and hype.
Unhappy finish
Last year finished with a whimper, as there were no IPOs in the final quarter of the year, according to the LSEG, which does not count the introduction of Chapel Down Group PLC (AIM:CDGP) in December, which made the move up from Aquis.
However, the final two months saw three new companies join the market via reverse takeovers: Sonangol reversed into Afentra, Neo Energy Metals PLC (LSE:NEO) into cash shell Stranger Holdings and MVI Ireland into IMC Exploration Group PLC (LSE:IMC).
Year
Number of London IPOs · IPO money raised (£m)
2013 · 104 · 12,221
2014 · 138 · 14,557
2015 · 96 · 7,645
2016 · 70 · 3,539
2017 · 108 · 9,434
2018 · 89 · 6,085
2019 · 36 · 4,471
2020 · 50 · 8,530
2021 · 126 · 8,118
2022 · 45 · 1,563
2023 · 23 · 997.9
Global IPOs
This compared to an 8% fall in global IPO volumes, according to accountant EY, with proceeds down by 33%.
There were 1,298 IPOs around the world last year, which raised US$123.2 billion of new cash, led by the technology sector.
Tech IPOs raised US$32.2 billion, but EY said this was a decline driven by “subdued investor reception to high-profile tech IPOs in the US and generative artificial intelligence startups still being in the venture capital stage”.
The industrial sector saw the highest volume of deals at 265, while the consumer sector was the only one to increase volume and cash proceeds year on year.
By geography, the Americas saw a 15% in IPO numbers to 153 compared with 2022, with a threefold increase in fundraising to US$22.7 billion.
Numbers were higher in Asia-Pacific, with 732 IPOs, but this was down 18%, while proceeds of US$69.4 billion plunged 44%, led by declines for mainland China and Hong Kong.
The Middle East, India and Africa saw a 7% rise in volume with 413 deals but a 39% decrease in proceeds to US$31.1 billion.