London records strongest year for IPOs since 2021
The London Stock Exchange saw £1.9 billion raised from 11 IPOs this year, marking its strongest year since 2021, new data from PwC shows.
Q4 saw a flurry of activity with fintech company Shawbrook and consumer company Princes Group pricing their IPOs at the end of October for £348 million and £400 million respectively.
Other equity market activity saw the demergers of global mining company Valterra Platinum and Magnum Ice Cream Company, new listings of Metlen Energy & Metals and AIM to Main Market move-ups, rights issues and Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) transactions contributing to the rebound in London’s equity markets.
The three-year stamp duty holiday on shares in new UK IPOs. announced in the Chancellor’s Budget last month, is widely seen as a positive step aimed at boosting the London IPO market.
“London has delivered its strongest year for IPO and listing activity since 2021. In 2025, a total of £1.9 billion in proceeds was raised through 11 IPOs, with £1.3 billion of proceeds raised in the final quarter demonstrating growing momentum,” said Vhernie Manickavasagar, UK IPO Leader at PwC UK.
“In addition, global multi-billion-pound companies selected the London Stock Exchange for their international listings in 2025, the largest of which had a market capitalisation of £16 billion in December 2025. These developments underscore the resurgence of London’s capital markets and its returning appeal as a leading listing destination.
“Looking ahead, momentum is set to continue into 2026, with a robust pipeline of large-cap IPOs expected across the Consumer, Financial Services and TMT sectors.”
A global rebound
Global IPO proceeds totalled $143.3 billion from 1,014 IPOs, a 21% increase compared to 2024 which saw $118.1 billion proceeds raised from 984 IPOs.
The rebound in activity, which was particularly strong in the second half of the year, was driven by robust IPO activity in the Americas ($59.8 billion) and Asia-Pacific region $61.6 billion), up 61% and 24% respectively.
The largest IPO globally in 2025 was the $6.3bn IPO of Medline that recently priced in December in the US.
The top 10 IPOs of 2025 consisted of six from the Asia-Pacific region, three from the US and one from Europe. Private equity and venture capital backed IPOs accounted for four of the top 10, showing a move towards the return of sponsor-backed listings as a viable monetisation route.
The largest sector for IPO activity in terms of proceeds raised globally was the Financials sector, raising $42.3 billion, up from its position as third largest in 2024 when it raised $16.3 billion. Financials accounted for 29% of global proceeds, with four IPOs raising over a $1 billion.
Information Technology followed with proceeds of $19.6 billion, while Consumer Discretionary and Industrials raised $18.8 billion and $18.1 billion.
