London Records Strongest Year Of IPOs Since 2021

After a year of economic highs and lows, London’s IPO market ended on a high in 2025, despite many twists and turns along the way.

According to new data from PwC UK, in 2025, London recorded its strongest year of IPO activity since 2021. Whilst the year did start slow, Q4 delivered a clear message: listings are moving again.

And with the wider EMEA region also seeing a strong end to the year, it looks like the markets have set an optimistic tone as we head into 2026.

Europe’s IPO Activity Gathers Momentum Towards End Of Year

According to the report by PwC, European IPO activity gained real momentum towards the end of 2025. In Q4 alone, 15 IPOs raised €5.5 billion, showing that investors were keen to get deals done before the end of the calendar year.

Across the whole of 2025, €12.5 billion was raised from 60 European listings. Whilst this was slightly lower than the 2024 totals, it certainly wasn’t a slow year, especially considering much of the continent spent 2025 struggling with economic uncertainty and battling tariffs.

Within Europe, the biggest deal of the year was the €3.2 billion IPO of Verisure, the home security group that listed in Stockholm. Other big listings included Swiss Marketplace Group (€967 billion) and Asker Healthcare (€823 billion) also listed on the Nasdaq in Stockholm. In fact, Stockholm’s Nasdaq had a great year as it held 4 of the top 10 IPOs in Europe.

London’s Strongest IPO Year Since 2021

For London, 2025 was certainly an exciting year. The city raised £1.9 billion from 11 IPOs, making it London’s best year since 2021. But it was Q4 that helped it achieve this accolade, with £1.3 billion of its total coming in Q4 alone.

Fintech company Shawbrook and consumer company Princes Group were two leading companies that priced their IPOs at the end of October for £348 million and £400 million respectively.

Many believe that the reason Q4 was so successful is that the government announced a three-year stamp duty holiday on shares in new UK IPOs during the autumn budget. Many believe this made for a strong Q4, rounding off a record year.

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 £1.9 billion in proceeds was raised through 11 IPOs, with £1.3 billion 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 £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.”

Global IPO Market Sees Growth

The Global IPO market also saw good growth, reaching $143.3 billion across 1,014 IPOs, up 21% year-on-year.

This was mainly driven by the US and Asia-Pacific, which together accounted for more than $120 billion. The biggest IPO across the world was Medlin’s $6.3 billion listing in the US, launched in December.

Across the world, the top 10 IPOs of 2025 came from the Asia-Pacific region (6), the US (3) and Europe (1).

When it came to the sectors driving the highest value, the financials sector came up top, raising $42.3 billion, followed by Information Technology ($19.6 billion), Consumer Discretionary ($18.8 billion) and Industrials ($18.1 billion).

Stuart Newman, Global IPO Centre Leader at PwC UK, added, “Despite disruption, 2025 has been a strong year for IPOs, up 21% from the prior year. The US, China/Hong Kong and India have driven 2025 activity; there is confidence and an active pipeline going into 2026 in all regions, if still selective.”

What Does 2026 Have In Store?

Whilst 2025 was a year of ups and downs for global markets, it certainly ended on a bang.

And as 2026 begins, it looks like London is better positioned for a strong year than it has been in years. So will London be able to sustain its position? Or will it lose out to bigger players in 2026? We will wait and see…

Sources: Investing.com, Financial Times