Elliott Management is preparing a multibillion-pound flotation of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble, with a listing expected next year and London edging out New York as the preferred venue.
The US hedge fund has reportedly begun sounding out advisers ahead of a potential IPO, with banks likely to be appointed in early 2026.
While no final decision has been taken, current thinking favours London, where the group’s steady cashflows could appeal to yield-hungry UK investors.
If it lands, the float would be one of the most symbolically important listings London has seen in years.
A welcomed, positive boost as a consumer-facing, profitable, private equity-backed business chooses the City over Wall Street.
A rare vote of confidence in the City
The combined group is no small catch. Barnes & Noble and Waterstones are the largest booksellers in the US and UK respectively, with more than 1,090 stores between them.
Last year, the business generated around $400m (£299m) in profit from roughly $3bn in sales.
Under chief executive James Daunt, the group has expanded aggressively ahead of a potential flotation, opening dozens of new stores.
Daunt told CNBC this week that book sales “were doing very well” and said “2025 has been a fantastic year for us”, revealing the group opened 67 new US stores alone this year.
An IPO would cap a turnaround story years in the making.
Elliott acquired Waterstones in 2018 before snapping up Barnes & Noble in 2019 for $683m, putting Daunt in charge of both sides of the Atlantic.
Since then, Waterstones has hoovered up rivals like Foyles, Hatchards and Blackwell’s, successfully rebuilding a retail empire most had written off.
For London, the timing matters almost as much as the asset.
The UK market has been hollowed out by takeovers, delistings and a steady migration of growth companies to the US.
Deliveroo’s ill-fated £7.6bn float ended in a $2.9bn sale to DoorDash, while Darktrace was taken private by American buyout firm Thoma Bravo, just three years after listing.
Against that backdrop, a high-quality, profitable retailer opting for London would be a rare morale boost.
Daunt himself has previously talked up the City as a natural home for businesses like his.
Speaking earlier this year, he described Waterstones as “a solid, predictable retailer with steady growth and dividend payouts”, likening it to Next – one of London’s retail success stories.
Private equity tests London’s reopening
The potential float also fits a broader, if fragile, narrative that London’s IPO market may finally be stirring.
Activity remains thin, but momentum is beginning to build.
Princes, the tinned food giant, has flagged listing intentions, while Beauty Tech Group and specialist lender Shawbrook have also moved towards the market.
EY-Parthenon says the IPO pipeline for the next 12 months is strengthening as confidence improves.
Private equity firms, too, are circling.
Other buyout-owned groups, including the £5bn roadside recovery business RAC, are weighing London listings next year as sponsors look for exits after a long drought.
A Waterstones–Barnes & Noble IPO would sit squarely in that camp.
Elliott has declined to comment publicly, and plans could still shift towards New York.
But even the possibility that a US hedge fund sees London as the right home for one of its crown jewels does offer a rare sigh of relief for a struggling market.