(Bloomberg) - London bankers and investors will be counting on a handful of candidates to provide the event publicly for the first time after the highly anticipated Shein list pauses.
Most of them come from Bloomberg
Shein's blockbuster IPO plan this year, at one point, with an estimated price of up to £50 billion ($67 billion), often touted as the catalyst for London's need to reignite IPO activities.
Instead, the Chinese-founded fashion retailer was caught in the U.S. tariff war. According to Bloomberg News, the deal slowed down when Shein evaluated the impact of trade restrictions on its business.
The UK stock capital market has endured a huge situation, with many high-profile lists moving overseas in recent years, and IPOs have been scarce in recent years. Fundraising for the London IPO fell below $1 billion in 2024, a data compiled by Bloomberg, second only to the financial crisis, with sales falling so low.
“At the beginning of this year, it was really optimistic to have a cyclical rebound for IPOs,” said Herbert Smith Freehills, a partner specializing in the capital markets of law firms. “But macro and market volatility, especially sectors exposed to tariffs, have taken revenge.”
Nevertheless, the list of transactions listed in the coming quarters may provide the spark that the market has been waiting for. While the shocking impact of the ongoing tariff war continues to weigh on IPOs in Europe and the United States, bankers say many companies want to be publicly public immediately once the calm returns are paid.
"Most IPO time has changed," said Brian Hanratty, head of ECM at British investment bank Peel Hunt Ltd.
One company that is considering courageous volatility is Iforex Financial Trading Holdings Ltd.'s trading platform, which has revenue of $50 million, announced its potential listing plan for a listing on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
Other companies that are considering listing in London this year include Ebury, a payments company backed by Banco Santander SA, as well as Newday, a private equity consumer credit provider reported by Bloomberg and Metlen Energy & Metals SA in Greece.
People familiar say that Uzbek Kim Navoi Mining & Metallurgical Co. has also been stepping up preparations for the final stock market debut, while Hong Kong-based Ecoceres Inc. has always believed that London is a potential place to go public next year.
To be sure, private equity owners can consider alternatives to offload holdings. For example, Bloomberg reported last month that New York state owners CVC Capital Partners Plc and Cinven have been attracting interest from potential buyers throughout or in part of their business.
Investors are still caring for huge losses in the last wave of UK listings, a acquisition announced by Deliveroo plc, which is a London food delivery platform that was reached in the IPO about four years ago.
"There is no doubt that the poor 2021 IPO retro is still new," said Jamie Constable, a market strategist at London singer Capital Markets. However, "we don't think this is a "buy strike" that drives investors. Investors are keen on new blood."
To encourage more products, the UK authorities are implementing the largest reforms to listing rules in decades and taking measures to relax voting rules and share structures. They also explore ways to unlock investments from retirement savings, such as by merging government pension funds.
Even so, more can be done to promote access to capital, including strengthening retail investment and government support for emerging companies.
Jason Paltrowitz, director of trading platform OTC Markets, said trading stocks and AIMs that support the London Stock Exchange’s primary exchange are also key to revitalizing the market.
“So London needs to double its support to build tomorrow’s venture capital firms instead of focusing on attracting perceived 'headlines' into its market,” he said.
Most of them come from Bloomberg Business Weekly
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