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(Bloomberg) -- London bankers and investors are pinning their hopes on a handful of candidates to get initial public offering activity off the ground after the much-anticipated listing of Shein hit a pause.
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A blockbuster IPO by Shein, planned for this year and at one point eyeing a valuation of as much as £50 billion ($67 billion), was often touted as the catalyst that London needed to reignite IPO activity.
Instead, the Chinese-founded fashion retailer got caught up in the US tariff war. Progress on the deal has slowed to a crawl as Shein assesses the impact of the trade restrictions on its business, Bloomberg News has reported.
UK equity capital markets have endured a torrid stretch, with a dearth of IPOs in recent years exacerbated by a number of high-profile listings moving overseas. Fundraising from London IPOs fell below $1 billion in 2024 — only the second time since the financial crisis that volume dipped so low, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“At the start of the year, there was real optimism for a cyclical rebound in IPOs,” said Mike Jacobs, a partner specializing in capital markets at law firm Herbert Smith Freehills. “But macro and market volatility — particularly sectors exposed to tariffs — has reasserted itself with a vengeance.”
Still, a list of deals penciled in for the coming quarters may offer a measure of spark that the market has been waiting for. And while the chilling effects of the ongoing tariff war continue to weigh on IPOs in Europe and the US, bankers say a number of firms are looking to go public as soon as calm returns.
“Most IPO timetables have now shifted,” said Brian Hanratty, head of ECM at British investment bank Peel Hunt Ltd. “There are three to five notable London IPOs lined up for the coming quarters.”
One company that is considering braving the volatility is iFOREX Financial Trading Holdings Ltd. The trading platform with $50 million in revenues announced plans for a potential listing on the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
Other companies that are considering a London listing this year include payments firm Ebury, backed by Banco Santander SA, as well as private equity-owned consumer credit provider NewDay and Greece’s Metlen Energy & Metals SA, Bloomberg has reported.