Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and economic and market uncertainty there have been several signs of life for the IPO market recently both on these shores and across the Atlantic.

‘London remains the fifth largest exchange globally for equity capital raised with over £7.5 billion raised so far this year,’ says EY-Parthenon UK  IPO leader Scott McCubbin.

‘We anticipate renewed momentum in the M&A market in the second half of 2025, which could pave the way for a recovery in IPO activity. For companies considering going public, early preparation, a clear path to profitability, and operational resilience will be key,’ adds McCubbin.

London’s junior market AIM has seen the number of companies listing on this exchange hit a three-year high – rising from nine to 16 in 2024/5, according to data national accountancy group UHY Hacker Young.

The average amount of new money raised per IPO was £9.9 million in 2024/25 – a bounce from the low of £6.8 million recorded in 2022/23.

Colin Wright, chair of UHY Hacker Young, says AIM has emerged from a period of underperformance but if plans to simplify admission and broaden the range of accepted accounting standards go ahead it will enhance its appeal to companies.  

Analysts at Peel Hunt are upbeat about future IPO activity in their latest review.

‘Despite a cautious tone from investors post-summer, the backdrop is getting increasingly supportive for UK IPOs. The UK pipeline of potential IPO candidates continues to build, both for later this year and next.’

Examples of prospective UK IPOs include Project Glow Topco Limited (the ultimate holding company of The Beauty Tech Group) which announced its intention to float (8 September) on London’s main market in October this year.

The at-home beauty device company owns brands such as CurrentBody Skin, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser.

A report in the Financial Times recently suggested Rolls-Royce (RR.) is looking at funding options for its small nuclear reactor business, with one potential avenue being a standalone stock market listing for the unit.

In the US, the success of the recent Swedish fintech IPO Klarna (KLAR:NYSE) which debuted on the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) on 10 September raising $1.37 billion might encourage other names to float.

Among those already scheduled to make their NYSE debut this year including online ticket marketplace StubHub. The offering is said to be 20 times oversubscribed, in another vote of confidence for the IPO market.

According to Rainmaker Securities an IPO advisory firm, the 20 largest offerings (out of the 241 US IPOs so far this year) have seen large price spikes on their first day of trading, with an average advance of 36%. 

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