Hugely popular, and sometimes controversial, Asian fast fashion giant Shein could decide on whether to pursue a London stock market listing this week, according to weekend reports from This is Money.
Shein is said to be eyeing a £70 billion valuation in a public listing.
While the US has taken the lion’s share of blockbuster debuts in recent years, recent antagonism from the House of Representatives against Chinese TikTok-owner ByteDance may make London appear like a friendlier jurisdiction for Shein.
Shein is now headquartered in Singapore, but it was based in China until 2022 and primarily works with Chinese manufacturers.
In December 2023, the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce scrutinised Shein’s data privacy practices and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.
If a London IPO is confirmed, it would be one of the largest debuts in the London Stock Exchange’s history, coming at a time when blockbuster IPOs are a rare breed.
It could also galvanise other prospective unlisted companies to get their shares on the market.
Who could we possibly, maybe, we expect to list?
Monzo
One of two large British fintech disruptors, Monzo has been on the radar for a while.
The London-based mobile banking app secured a $5 billion (£4 billion) valuation earlier this month in a funding round led by Google parent Alphabet’s venture capital wing CapitalG.
Chief executive TS Anil said the funding will go toward cracking the US market, but London is still seen as the obvious venue to float
However, regarding the prospect of a public market debut, Anil said it was still “too early” to discuss the idea.
Starling Bank
In 2021, Starling Bank’s founder and former chief executive Anne Boden said an IPO was “one of two years away”.
Boden probably didn’t expect the capital markets to fall off so dramatically, but a Starling Bank IPO is still on the cards.
In April 2022, Starling raised £130.5 million from existing investors, valuing the lender at more than £2.5 billion
Revolut
Sensing a theme yet?
The bigger of the two well-known unlist UK-headquartered fintech disruptors, a Revolut IPO has been in the rumour mill for a while.
Co-founders Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko gave a scathing review of the UK around a year ago, saying the country’s regulatory environment and waning post-Brexit appeal meant a London IPO was off the cards.
Their attitudes have shifted more recently though. Or at least chief executive Francesca Carlesi’s has.
Carlesi left the prospect of a London IPO on the table when talking to Bloomberg earlier this month, though she also warned that the capital’s status as a global fintech leader faces challenges.
Her comments came as she, alongside executives from Monzo, Zilch, Aquis and other UK-based fintech companies,launched a new independent industry body Innovate Finance.
Revolut was last valued at $33 billion (£26 billion) in a 2021 funding round led by SoftBank and Tiger Global Management.
BrewDog
From banks to beers, Scottish hipster beer merchant BrewDog is a likely contender for a London IPO.
Last June, boss James Watt said the UK remains the preferred destination for BrewDog, though he didn’t rule out other jurisdictions.
Brewdog previously sold shares to 220,000 customers as a way of crowdfunding, valuing the company at around £1.8bln.
Zopa
Another digital bank to look out for, Zopa has gone quiet on the IPO chatter since raising the prospect in 2021.
However, the Softbank-backed firm, which started off as a peer-to-peer lending platform, beefed up its executive team last year, possibly in preparation for tapping the public markets.
Last September, the bank said it was waiting for the“right macroeconomic and market conditions” to IPO.
“We still plan to IPO and can be ready in a short time, however we will not be rushed to make hasty decisions; we will wait for the right macroeconomic and market conditions,” a spokesperson said.