It wasn’t quite a downpour after the drought, but the weather changed for stock market listings in London during the course of 2025. The first half of the year was properly parched as President Trump’s tariff agenda upset everything: fundraisings from flotations, or initial public offerings (IPOs), were the lowest in a miserable run that started in 2022. But data from Dealogic show there was a notable pick-up in activity in the second half, albeit still billions away from that of 2021, the last strong year.
The mini-revival will have come as a relief for both the London Stock Exchange and Rachel Reeves. For the former, the dearth of new listings – as opposed to fundraisings by companies already on the exchange – has become an embarrassment in recent years, especially after London failed to land Arm Holdings in 2023. Meanwhile, the chancellor is trying to talk up the joys (and superior returns over cash) for long-term investors in equities, a task that is easier when there is a steady buzz of new arrivals.
Not all of 2025’s newcomers can be described as household names. The largest IPO was the Texas-based data centre real estate group Fermi – and that was a dual listing with the US Nasdaq exchange. Better-known UK names included the £1.2bn tinned tuna maker Princes Group, which raised £400m, and the specialist lender Shawbrook.
Naturally, the LSE is keen to promote the idea that a turning point was passed. “The momentum this year is very much a sign of what is to come, with many companies actively preparing for a listing in London next year,” argues the chief executive, Julia Hoggett.
She is probably correct. Share prices are high, which encourages owners to cash in a few chips. And the merry-go-round of private equity funds selling assets to each other may have reached its natural limit; the stock market, the more traditional venue for exits, looks relatively more attractive.
The most important early IPO of 2026 should be the Oslo-based Visma, one of Europe’s biggest software companies, with 17,500 employees. London first needs to be selected as the venue – Stockholm has been making a late challenge – but investment banking advisers are in place in the form of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS. Visma has been backed by the UK-based private equity company Hg Capital for almost two decades. It is thought to be worth at least €20bn (£17.5bn), more than enough to enter the Footsie.
Other possibilities include the Bristol-based veterinary group IVC Evidensia, whose route is clearer now that the Competition and Markets Authority has issued its preliminary report on the sector. It operates from 2,700 sites in 19 countries, employing about 39,000 people, and the UK is its biggest single market. The company is owned by a private equity consortium led by EQT. Again, its likely valuation would make the cut for the FTSE 100.
Other names include the RAC roadside recovery business (and possibly the AA too), the combined Waterstones and Barnes & Noble bookshop chains, fintech payments platform Ebury and online travel agent Loveholidays.
A market downturn would probably stall progress, but the London IPO pipeline looks in better shape than it has done for years. “We have seen confidence gradually grow with IPO issuers, who have been encouraged by the activity that has come to market,” says Brian Hanratty of the broker Peel Hunt.
But London definitely needs an injection of freshness. Amid the mini-pick-upin 2025, Wise, the payments firm, announced a switch of its primary listing to the US. Meanwhile, the natural churn on takeovers and delistings continued to reduce the ranks of public companies; at the end of November, there were 930 companies with a main market listing in London, down from 972 at the start of the year.
Reeves, in her November budget, announced a three-year post-IPO stamp duty holiday for firms listing in London. That modest giveaway on the levy on share purchases is probably only a minor consideration for companies and their backers. But it would still be politically useful for her if the IPO market comes to life at the same time. An improvement is overdue – and needs to last longer than six months.