The London IPO market saw the beginnings of a recovery in 2025 as a flurry of listings in the fourth quarter helped offset an otherwise lackluster year for floats.
Some $1.9bn (£14.1bn) was raised via initial public offerings in London over the course of the year, more than double the amount raised last year and the highest amount raised since 2024, according to data compiled by S&P.
But this remained well below the annual average of $10bn that was achieved between 2010 and 2025, in signs the market still had a long way to go to catch up with trend levels of activity.
The overwhelming majority of the proceeds ($1.6bn) derived from the fourth quarter of the year, raising hopes that London was on course to make a fuller recovery in 2026. But even the fourth quarter figure remained roughly a third below the quarterly average over the past decade. Prior to the late listings flurry, London had been on course to drop out of the top 20 listings venues globally.
The London Stock Exchange’s main market saw a stronger recovery, with the amount raised more than doubling to $1.7bn, while its junior small-cap cousin, AIM, saw a weaker recovery, raising less than $200m, well short of the long-run average of around $1bn raised annually.
Overall, global IPO issuance rose in 2025 compared to last year, supported by the recovery of the US and Asian markets, with IPO volumes trending towards more normalised levels. Global IPO proceeds totalled $143.3bn from 1,014 IPOs, a 21 per cent increase compared to 2024 which saw $118.1bn proceeds raised from 984 IPOs.
“It’s encouraging to see IPO activity by private equity sponsors gaining momentum in 2025,” said Kat Kravtsov, director of UK capital markets at PwC.
“London is also benefiting from a growing cohort of IPO-ready businesses, particularly in financial services and tech-enabled sectors. Combined with rising private equity activity, this creates a favourable backdrop for new issuance.
“Provided the economic environment stays on track, London could be entering a more active listing cycle in 2026.”
A number of billion-pound companies are weighing a London listing in 2026, including software firm Visma and gold miner Navoi Mining. It’s hoped that the Chancellor’s decision to introduce a stamp duty holiday for trading the shares of newly-listed firms could help boost IPO activity in the new year.