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London recorded its strongest year for initial public offerings since 2021 in 2025, helped by a surge of activity in the final quarter, according to PwC’s latest IPO Watch EMEA report.
The London Stock Exchange raised £1.9bn from 11 IPOs during the year, with fourth-quarter activity driving much of the growth in proceeds, with £1.3bn of proceeds raised in the final quarter which more than doubled year-on-year.
The rebound came alongside increased equity market activity, including demergers, new listings, rights issues and Special Purpose Acquisition Company transactions.
Across Europe, IPO proceeds in the fourth quarter reached €5.5bn (£4.79bn) from 15 listings, providing a strong end to the year and signalling momentum heading into 2026. For the full year, European IPOs raised €12.5bn (£10.9bn) from 60 listings, down from €15bn (£13bn) across 64 deals in 2024.
PwC said the late-year performance, combined with a solid pipeline of potential listings, pointed to a continued recovery in the European IPO market after several subdued years.
The largest European IPO of 2025 was the €3.2bn (£2.7bn) listing of home security company Verisure on the Nasdaq in Stockholm, which was also the biggest deal across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Other major listings included the €967m (£842m) flotation of Swiss Marketplace Group on the Six Swiss Exchange and the €823m (£717m) listing of Asker Healthcare, also in Stockholm.
In London, fourth-quarter deals included the IPOs of fintech company Shawbrook, which raised £348m, and consumer goods group Princes, which raised £400m, both priced at the end of October.
Additional activity in the capital included the demergers of Valterra Platinum and Magnum Ice Cream Company, new listings such as Metlen Energy and Metals, and a number of AIM to Main Market transfers.
Vhernie Manickavasagar, UK IPO Leader at PwC UK, said: “London has delivered its strongest year for IPO and listing activity since 2021. In 2025, a total of £1.9bn in proceeds was raised through 11 IPOs, with £1.3bn of proceeds raised in the final quarter demonstrating growing momentum.
“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 £16bn in December 2025. These developments underscore the resurgence of London’s capital markets and its returning appeal as a leading listing destination.”
She added: “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.”
Kat Kravstov, Capital Markets director at PwC UK, said: “London is also benefiting from a growing cohort of IPO-ready businesses, particularly in financial services and tech-enabled sectors. Combined with increasing private equity activity, this creates a favourable backdrop for new issuance. Provided the economic environment stays on track, London could be entering a more active listing cycle in 2026.
“Looking ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be another strong year for IPOs globally and in EMEA, driven by strong investor appetite for quality IPO stories, a backlog of issuers, including large unicorns, and overall constructive equity market sentiment, subject to continued stability.”
