There are some stirrings of activity in the UK IPO market with a strong pipeline of London listings suggesting there could be a post-election rebound in activity.
Eight companies floated on the London Stock Exchange in the first-half, raising £514 million, which was slightly down from the same period last year.
However, this represents a rebound from the record low activity in the fourth quarter of 2023 when there was just one IPO. Last year, 23 companies floated on the LSE.
“The London stock market is steadily gaining momentum after a challenging two years stifled by macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty," said Scott McCubbin, IPO lead at EY.
"The forthcoming UK election outcome is expected to provide businesses with much-needed regulatory and policy clarity. Additionally, proposed revisions to simplify the UK listing regime to attract more start-ups are set to take effect later this month."
The still-stuttering performance of London was in stark contrast to activity seen on the other side of the Atlantic where EY calculates there were 86 IPOs, raising just under $18 billion.
The EMEIA region (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa) also enjoyed a strong first half, with India in particular performing well as it welcomed 152 companies to the public market.
Globally, there were 551 IPOs generating proceeds of $52.2 billion, according to the EY figures.
Who IPO'd?
Raspberry Pi (LSE:RPI) plc was the largest main market listing, raising £172.9 million, while Aoti Inc (AIM:AOTI) was the largest AIM listing, raising £35.1 million.
European Green Transition PLC (AIM:EGT) started trading on AIM in April, raising £6.5 million to acquire distressed green economy assets and contribute to existing projects.
Also in April, HeLIX Exploration PLC (AIM:HEX) pulled off an oversubscribed AIM debut, raising £7.5 million.
Air Astana (LSE:AIRA)'s well-received IPO in February placed a £670 million valuation on the Kazakhstan flagship carrier, while Microsalt plc debuted in the same month on a more bite-sized £18.5 million valuation.
Two venture capital trusts, Praetura Ventures and Fuel Ventures, also listed their shares.