The London stock market faced an underwhelming first half of 2023, with 18 issuers raising £593m as pressure from high inflation, rising interest rates and geopolitical turmoil continue to take a toll.
According to big four accounting firm EY, the proceeds raised in the first half of the year are in line with H1 of 2022, in which the market raised £594m from 26 issuers.
While the performance so far this year represents only a small change from last year, it is far below the record levels of activity in the same period in 2021 when 47 London IPOs – including blockbuster tech listings such as Darktrace – raised £9.4bn.
“The London IPO market continues to experience challenges with macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures having an adverse impact on businesses looking to list in the UK,” said Scott McCubbin, EY UKI IPO leader....