IPO Market Forecasts

Ooooo I like this... The London Stock Exchange and Crowdcube are partnering to open up private markets to retail investors. This is a big moment. Not just another press release. Not just another partnership of intent but one of action. And really, this could be one of the most important shifts in the UK funding landscape we have seen in years and about time. Here’s the sad reality. The UK has no shortage of world-class startups. We are inventors. We create unicorns. We attract talent. We build real innovation. But when it comes to scaling, too many companies end up needing to look to the US for major growth capital. Too many IPOs bypass London. And too many everyday investors here are locked out of the upside until it is already being captured elsewhere. This move can go a long way to help change that. By using the LSE’s super duper established market infrastructure and Crowdcube’s retail investor platform, they open the door for founders to raise serious capital while staying private, and opening the door for retail investors to participate alongside the institutions. It solves two problems at once: 👉🏽 Founders get more choice of where and how to raise. 👉🏽 Investors, not just the big guys, get access to late-stage companies while they are still growing fast. If it works, this could be the start of rebuilding confidence in UK capital markets. It makes London look like a place that backs innovation rather than just waves goodbye when companies decide they need to go abroad. It is not the final fix. But it is the right kind of innovation at the right time. It is good for founders. Good for investors. And good for the UK economy. Great job Matt Cooper and Julia Hoggett for making this one happen. 🤝 Now the question is… which scale-ups will be bold enough to be first through the door? I wonder.

This odd trend is threatening London’s future as a financial hub... A bunch of companies are delisting from the London Stock Exchange. Here's why it's happening (+ what needs to change to fix it). Delisting is when a company decides to stop being listed on a public stock market. Companies are delisting from the London Stock Exchange for a few reasons: 1. 💰 As private companies, they get better financing options which are more flexible and less open scrutiny (e.g. through private equity or venture capital funds). This is why REDX and C4X Discovery Ltd delisted from London’s AIM market. 2. 📈 It's expensive to maintain a public listing in the UK. You’ve got a bunch of ongoing disclosure and reporting obligations (as well as other regulatory requirements). Cost is the main reason Superdry announced it’ll be delisting from the London Stock Exchange. 3. 🤝 Delistings can happen naturally when a public company is acquired and the buyer wants to take it private. The music company Hipgnosis Songs Funds is a public company that's currently under a bidding way to be bought. Once that’s completed, the buyer will take Hipgnosis private. 4. 🧐 Companies feel their shares are undervalued in UK public markets compared to international markets. Shell’s CEO has specifically mentioned this before. These companies might delist in London and re-list somewhere they believe offers higher valuations. For corporate teams in law firms, listings and initial public offerings (or IPOs) are a source of *huge* revenue. After a listing, law firms still advise their public company clients on: 1. compliance with the complicated listing rules, 2. interacting with regulators, and 3. corporate governance (think: board structure, investor relations and annual meetings) So, fewer public companies means less of this type of work going round 👆️ Yes, lawyers *do* make money from helping companies delist — and commercial lawyers *do* a lot of work for private companies as well. But the delistings threaten the City’s reputation as a financial hub (which is bad news for professional services providers, like commercial law firms). So, how can this be fixed? Right now, it's clear the London Stock Exchange is seen as more expensive and difficult than other countries. Well, it's on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's financial regulator, to change the rules to make the UK's capital markets more attractive. Earlier this year, the FCA did announce some changes to make the rules in London simpler — so they're aware of the problem. But judging by the recent news, it seems there's still *a long* way to go. — Enjoyed this post? This is what we do at LittleLaw. We make commercial news free and accessible for aspiring lawyers. 💌 Sign up using the link in the comments

One year on from its IPO on Nasdaq, the UK microchip designer Arm is valued at a cool £111 billion. If it was a #FTSE100 constituent it would be the fifth largest, eclipsed only by AstraZeneca, Shell, Unilever and HSBC. It’s important to look forward as London’s capital markets reform continues – and the recent Financial Conduct Authority listing rules changes are a tangible leap - but let’s not forget the One That Got Away. Too often the matter of attracting and keeping the best companies trading here is depicted as a top-down problem, an international battle between London, New York and Amsterdam. And to a degree it is. But if London wants to thrive as the home to more public companies of scale, it must apply some bottom-up solutions, some distance from the FTSE 100. That means: Building on existing, highly successful tax incentives, such as AIM business relief, EIS and VCT, that unite patient capital with growing businesses; Aligning billions more invested in UK pensions with smaller UK companies which have suffered most as liquidity has declined; Encouraging retail investors to try shares over cash more often; Making it easier for companies to connect with their ultimate owners and run stock incentive plans for their employees; Cutting stamp duty on share trading, a tax currently levied at the highest rate anywhere in the world other than Ireland; Devising solutions to soaring audit costs and uncommunicative proxy advisers. The Quoted Companies Alliance is busy on all these fronts, championing tomorrow's blue chips. #cityoflondon #publicequity #growthcapital #midcaps #smallcaps #microcaps #investment #wealthcreation #ukeconomy #ipo #ftse London Stock Exchange Aquis Stock Exchange CMIT - Capital Markets Industry Taskforce

The UK government will announce plans for a "world first" private stock market, known as Pisces, to boost its dwindling IPO activity. Chancellor Rachel Reeves will propose legislation in May 2024 to establish Pisces, the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System, where private companies can trade shares periodically. Pisces aims to serve as a “stepping stone” for companies considering public listings, while allowing investors opportunities to sell stakes in private firms. The platform will enable companies to control trading intervals and buyer selection, offering a flexible, regulated market environment. This comes as London's IPO numbers have been historically low, with only 12 listings raising £450 million in 2023. Amid challenges from firms choosing New York for its larger capital base, Pisces is designed to strengthen the UK's capital markets. The London Stock Exchange’s planned Intermittent Trading Venue will align with Pisces, while other exchanges may develop similar markets. On the surface, it offers the best of both worlds: liquidity opportunities for existing investor and employee shareholders, enhanced new investor protections, reduced disclosure requirements, and the chance to open their shares up to new audiences. All combined with the ongoing ability to continue to trade in the private markets where they can continue to facilitate share buybacks and capital raising through issuing new shares. Some, however, are skeptical, arguing that Pisces might deter IPOs further by allowing firms to avoid the rigors of public listing.