London Stock market bounces back after late flurry of IPO listings

London’s stock market has experienced a significant resurgence, recording its most robust year for new listings since 2021, driven by a late surge in activity.

Industry experts anticipate this positive global market momentum will persist through to 2026.

According to analysis by PwC, the London Stock Exchange welcomed 11 initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2025.

This figure specifically accounts for transactions raising a minimum of $5 million (£3.7 million) and does not include companies transitioning from the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) to the main market.

The IPOs raised £1.9 billion in total proceeds, making it the strongest year since 2021 when £16.8 billion was raised in a record year for the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

It is also more than double £700 million raised last year.

A late flurry of IPOs helped deliver a boost to the market with £1.3 billion of the total proceeds raised during the final quarter of the year, marking a shift following a dearth in activity.

IPO activity gained momentum over the final months of the year, which saw the flotations of tinned tuna maker Princes Group and small business lender Shawbrook on the main market.

Princes raised about £400 million from its listing, giving the 150-year-old firm a valuation of £1.16 billion, while Shawbrook raised £348 million and clinching a £1.92 billion valuation.

Other notable flotations included Texas-based Fermi, which develops electric grids, and Beauty Tech Group which owns beauty gadget brands used by the likes of Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams.

Vhernie Manickavasagar, the UK’s IPO leader at PwC UK, said: “London has delivered its strongest year for IPO and listing activity since 2021.

“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 (technology, media and telecoms) sectors.”

Around the world, proceeds totalled 143.3 billion US dollars (£106.2 billion) from 1,014 IPOs over 2025 – about a fifth more than in 2024, according to PwC’s analysis.

The biggest of the year was the 6.3 billion US dollar (£4.7 billion) blockbuster IPO of medical supplies giant Medline which had its Wall Street debut earlier this month.

In terms of sectors, financial services led the charge with the biggest proportion of proceeds raised globally.

Momentum in the IPO market comes as the UK has been introducing new measures to help revive the London market after a prolonged drought in activity.

This includes a three-year, stamp duty holiday on shares bought in new UK flotations to help London compete for IPOs on an international stage.