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The proceeds raised from European IPOs in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 fell by 92% compared with the same period last year, according to PwC.
This makes it the first quarter this year to see a fall in IPO activity and PwC has put this down to numerous elections in the UK, France and EU causing companies to delay their listings.
Overall, Europe saw 8 IPOs raising €0.3bn (£0.25bn), a decrease of €3.3bn (£2.77bn) compared with the same period last year and a fall of €6.3bn compared to the previous quarter.
However, year-to-date, European IPO proceeds are still outperforming last year with €11.8bn (£9.9bn) raised compared to €6.1bn (£5.12bn) at the same point in 2023.
Despite the quieter quarter in Europe three significant IPOs launched in September including the IPO of Springer Nature in Frankfurt (priced early October), Europastry on the Madrid Stock Exchange and the Zabka IPO in Poland.
IPO activity in the London market for Q3 saw £50m proceeds raised from financial services company Rosebank Industries.
The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new Listing Rules came into effect on the 29 July and represent a change in the UK’s capital markets regulatory regime.
For private businesses contemplating IPOs, the eligibility requirements are more flexible and seek to allow companies access to the capital markets at an earlier stage.
Kat Kravtsov, capital markets director at PwC UK, said: “After a period of short-term volatility over the summer that saw a number of IPOs postponed, mainly due to the macroeconomic headwinds and multiple elections around the world with the US still to come, capital market conditions have since started to stabilise.
“Whilst the EMEA IPO market has seen a few transactions launching in September, the remainder of 2024 is expected to be relatively quiet with activity expected to pick up in 2025. Notably, early preparation and IPO readiness remains front of mind as there is a significant backlog of private equity exits and corporates that are looking to access the market next year.”
Vhernie Manickavasagar, capital markets partner at PwC UK, added: “The UK capital markets has also witnessed a generational change with new listing rules now in place designed to attract more companies to IPO in London. The impressive aftermarket performance of Raspberry Pi and Rosebank Industries coupled with a few further IPOs, including Applied Nutrition, expected to test the market in 2024 should instil confidence in the growing IPO pipeline targeting 2025.”
