London’s initial public offering (IPO) pipeline is said to be growing ahead of a shake-up to UK listing rules.
“The pipeline is actually building,” London Stock Exchange chief executive Julia Hoggett said at a Financial Times event on Wednesday.
This comes ahead of changes by the Financial Conduct Authority to rules on standard and premium listings in the coming weeks, which will see the two combined in a bid to ease red tape.
London faced an IPO drought similar to rivals in recent years but has been slower to recover in 2024.
Research from Mergermarket showed last week that London’s capital had dropped out of the top 20 IPO destinations for the year.
This placed it on par with smaller exchanges like those in Istanbul, Athens, and Oslo, with Air Astana (LSE:AIRA)’s €119 million joint-listing between London and Kazakhstan marking the former’s only IPO so far this year.
A flurry of companies leaving London has added to issues, with Tui AG leaving in February, following the likes of ARM Holdings previously.
Takeover bids for Currys PLC (LSE:CURY) and Direct Line Insurance Group PLC (LSE:DLG) have threatened further departures from London, while Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL) has also appeared to mull a move away.
Fears have grown over lower valuations across the London market against foreign counterparts, with high inflation and interest rates hitting sentiment last year, alongside political uncertainty most recently.