12 IPOs raised £5.2bn on the main market, while on the AIM, eight listings earned £441m
The London Stock Exchange posted its best start to the year for IPOs in over a decade, despite a weak debut for Deliveroo.
Included in the list of stock floats alongside the food delivery company is Trustpilot, the consumer reviews site, in addition to a number of smaller-sized firms listed on the AIM. This is according to research by EY.
EY said that 12 IPOs raised £5.2bn on the main market, while on the AIM, eight listings earned £441m, in the most lucrative quarter since 2007.
The financial services company claimed that London is still the optimal place in Europe for companies to go public, despite Deliveroo’s poor start to trading. The food delivery company is down to 248p per share on Monday morning following its listing at 390p.
Scott McCubbin, an EY partner, commented: “The UK has had the strongest opening quarter for IPOs for 14 years, with the markets successfully weathering the effects of Brexit and bouncing back from the stall in activity caused by the onset of the pandemic a year ago. With an effective vaccine rollout under way, momentum and confidence in the UK IPO market should continue to build, but future growth may vary depending on the sector.”
Compared to the same period a year ago there is a sharp difference in the performance of IPOs. In Q1 of 2021 there were only three IPOs on the main market and only two on the AIM, raising a total of £615m.
Rishi Sunak recently paved the way for sweeping reforms of the stock market to attract more fast-growing companies to list in the UK. However, EY’s McCubbin warned that further action would be required in order to compete with America.
“Such a positive performance in the first quarter shows confidence in the strong fundamentals of the UK IPO market. While some believe there is a risk of compromising on current strengths if the UK seeks to adapt to bolster its tech status, the UK would likely have to make some significant changes if it were to rival the US in this area,” he said.
