London’s IPO pipeline is running dry, with just GBP 8.8 bn raised in IPOs and follow-ons in 1H 2025 — the weakest inflation-adjusted tally in three decades, the Financial Times reports. Only three IPOs have landed on the main market this year, pulling in just USD 208 mn, compared to USD 16.7 bn raised by this point in 2021, Reuters reports.

(Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

REMEMBER- Despite post-Brexit reforms, years of equity outflows since 2016 have left London trailing rivals. The UK ranked just 20th globally for IPO proceeds in 2024, far behind the UAE (5th), Saudi Arabia (7th), and Oman (14th). The Middle East alone accounted for over half of global IPO volumes, while London raised only USD 1 bn, down 9% y-o-y. The city also lost 45 firms to delistings and takeovers.

IPO action is also shifting to continental Europe. Frankfurt and Zürich are preparing for a September wave, with expected listings from Germany’s Stada, Ottobock, Deutsche Börse’s ISS Stoxx unit, and Switzerland’s Swiss Marketplace Group. “These listing locations have the potential to become trailblazers for Europe,” Markus Meier, Bank of America’s head of equity capital markets in Germany, told Reuters.

With IPO mandates scarce, city firms are leaning on other business lines. Panmure Liberum now generates more than half of its revenue from advisory work, up from just a quarter in 2021. Peel Hunt has also seen research revenues rise as investment banking fees fell.

Others are arranging so-called “private IPOs” for private equity clients. These are structured secondary placements that mimic floats, but never reach the open market. Secondary sell-downs in London reached GBP 14.6 bn last year — more than double 2023 levels.

While stopgap transactions keep bankers busy, they tend to be shorter, lower-fee mandates that rarely match the scale of a full IPO — both a blessing and a drawback. “IPOs are a lot of work and have a lot more banks and big syndicates [to split fees between]… but if you do a big equity placing it’s actually less work and pretty profitable for the time you put in,” one senior banker told the FT. IPOs are also valued for the longer-term client relationships they help secure.

EGX30

35,727

+0.1% (YTD: +20.1%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 48.53

Sell 48.66

USD (CIB)

Buy 48.55

Sell 48.65

Interest rates (CBE)

22.00% deposit

23.00% lending

Tadawul

10,732

-0.7% (YTD: -10.8%)

ADX

10,095

-0.2%(YTD: +7.2%)

DFM

6,064

-0.3% (YTD: +17.5%)

S&P 500

6,460

-0.6%% (YTD: +9.8%)

FTSE 100

9,187

-0.3% (YTD: -12.4%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,352

-0.8% (YTD: +9.3%)

Brent crude

USD 67.48

-0.7%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.00

+1.8%

Gold

USD 3,516

+1.2%

BTC

USD 108,531

+0.2% (YTD: +16.0%)

S&P Egypt Sovereign Bond Index

907.23

+0.2% (YTD: +16.7%)

S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk

148.41

-0.2% (YTD: +6.1%)

VIX (Volatility Index)

15.36

+6.4% (YTD: -11.5%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.1% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 4.4 bn (17.4% below the 90-day average). Regional investors were the sole net buyers. The index is up 20.1% YTD.

In the green: Palm Hills Development (+4.4%), Juhayna (+2.8%), and Fawry (+2.3%).

In the red: Misr Cement (-2.8%), Qalaa Holdings (-1.4%), and Telecom Egypt (-1.0%).

CORPORATE ACTIONS-

Egypt Kuwait Holding to turn into Valmore Holding? Our friends at Egypt Kuwait Holding will ask shareholders to approve a corporate rebranding to Valmore Holding at an extraordinary general assembly scheduled for 21 September, according to an EGX disclosure (pdf).

Tags: