By Lars Mucklejohn
The number of applications to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has fallen to its lowest level in at least six years, new figures from the City watchdog show, as the Square Mile struggles to attract new IPOs.
Just 56 firms requested to float on the exchange’s main market between January and 23 November this year, according to data obtained by investment platform XTB through a freedom of information request to the Financial Conduct Authority.
This year’s figures, first reported by The Telegraph, represent half the average of 112 companies per year from 2018 to 2022.
Only 23 companies have IPO’d on the LSE so far this year. This figure is down from 45 in 2022, which itself was a 62 per cent drop compared with a record 119 listings in 2021.
Some big players have snubbed the market in favour of New York, including Cambridge chip giant Arm and London-based commodities broker Marex, which filed paperwork for an IPO in New York late last week.
Meanwhile, travel giant TUI said last week it was considering delisting from the LSE to focus on its listing in Germany, following Irish building giant CRH, and gambling group Flutter, both of which have also announced they are moving their listings from London to the US.
“The decline in activity on the IPO market is particularly concerning for private investors,” said Joshua Raymond, director of XTB.
“The listed stock market is the easiest and most widely understood way for retail customers to invest their money. We need a steady flow of new companies coming to the market.”
