Compared to the dizzying, cheap-capital-fuelled heights of 2021, London’s IPO markets had a relatively slow 2022. Just 45 companies across all sectors completed an IPO in London last year, compared to 126 in the year prior.
Global conflict, political instability, and spiralling inflation – among other factors – have contributed to last year’s slowdown in UK initial public offerings.
The change becomes starker when looking at tech IPOs. In 2021, blockbuster public listings from the likes of Darktrace, Deliveroo, and Wise helped UK tech IPOs raise £6.6bn out of a total £16.9bn, according to government figures.
In contrast, London IPOs raised a combined £1.6bn in 2022 without a smorgasbord of household tech names making their public market debuts.
Fears over the economy, along with a drop in startup funding and valuations, have left a cloud of uncertainty hanging over London’s IPO markets in 2023....