Investment bankers are hoping that a handful of big-ticket company flotations will drive a resurgence in London listings in 2026, after an anticipated revival in 2025 fell flat.
Fears about the health of the London Stock Exchange reached fever pitch last year with a dearth of new flotations and several companies, including fintech group Wise, switching their main listings to New York.
Bankers started 2025 in a hopeful mood before market volatility caused by US President Donald Trump’s global tariff war eroded boardroom confidence, leading many companies to halt listing processes both in the UK and globally.
But the LSE struggled to attract big listings compared with international peers, falling below even the Angolan Exchange for money raised from new listings in the first nine months of 2025.
“If we were honest, 2025 was a disappointing year for the UK IPO [initial public offering] market but we are seeing green shoots,” said James Fleming, head of UK investment banking coverage for Citi.
The final quarter of 2025 brought a flicker of life with main market flotations from British bank Shawbrook, LED face mask business Beauty Tech and tinned tuna seller Princes Group.
Data centre developer Fermi and industrial group Metlen launched dual listings in London, while the Magnum Ice Cream Company, which demerged from Unilever, chose Amsterdam for its main listing but also kept a UK listing.
There were 22 London IPOs in 2025, including nine main market listings and 13 on Aim, raising £2.1bn, according to LSE data running to December 22. In 2024 there were 16 IPOs raising £766mn.
City advisers say there is a much longer list of London IPO candidates for 2026.
“London has suffered from a lack of breadth and depth of supply in recent years but we expect a number of high-quality listings and more positive pricing conditions for sellers in 2026,” said Richard Fagan, head of origination at stockbroker Shore Capital.
Advisers hope a small number of large flotations can get away successfully, kick-starting a market revival by giving other groups the confidence to launch IPOs. Here are some of the candidates.
The great hope: Visma
Lawyers and bankers are watching for a potential €19bn listing by Visma, the Norwegian software business backed by British private equity firm Hg Capital, as soon as the first half of 2026.
The company has spent the past year gearing up for an IPO and has chosen London over Amsterdam. A successful flotation could be a catalyst that gives confidence to other companies that have been weighing a listing.
“It is tech, it is overseas, it is exactly the sort of business we want London to be winning,” said one adviser.
Attracting Visma to London would be hailed as evidence that long-awaited regulatory reforms are paying off, while the business could also benefit from changes to index rules to allow new issuers to join the blue-chip FTSE 100 while reporting their earnings in euros.
Charlie Walker, deputy chief executive of the LSE, said that until the recent changes, the listing rules had been “inhibitors to listings — there wasn’t just one barrier, it was something different tripping up each company”.
Fintech and insurance
A gaggle of digital and challenger lenders have been repeatedly tipped for IPOs over several years but London will need to convince them that it is a better long-term home than New York. Some of the companies, such as Revolut, are expected to stay private beyond 2026.
Santander’s payments business Ebury has pulled a London listing process it had been working on since 2024, according to three people familiar with the matter, but could still revive the plan this year.
Monzo has been linked to a listing in either the UK or US with a possible valuation of £6bn to £7bn, though some investors have been concerned over a stagnation in its valuation and a large group of shareholders have been pushing to oust the chair. The digital bank’s change of chief executive, which some investors want to reverse, means any flotation was likely to be pushed to the second half of the year or 2027, said people familiar with the matter.
Starling Bank is also weighing a public market debut but could opt for dual New York and London listings as it rapidly grows through acquisitions, underlining the challenge the UK faces in retaining high-growth homegrown companies.
“The UK needs to be able to incubate interesting companies and list them here,” said Tom Swerling, global head of equity capital markets at Deutsche Bank.
Credit checker ClearScore was in the early stages of gearing up for a listing, a process that could be accelerated to the second half of 2026 if the market opened up, said two people close to the situation.
Payments firm Zilch has also been considering a listing, potentially in 2026. However, it is yet to formally appoint advisers, meaning that 2027 is more likely. Payments reader group SumUp is in the same boat but is still choosing between Europe and New York.
Howden, the British insurance broker, is also considering a London listing that could value it at about £23bn but its recent takeovers of US brokers could open the door to a New York market debut instead of, or alongside, a London float. Cyber insurance group CFC is working with adviser Peel Hunt on a potential £5bn listing.
Hutchison: Twin opportunities
Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison is weighing listing two of its large assets in the next year. Its AS Watson health and beauty business, which includes 830 Superdrug shops in the UK and Ireland, could seek to raise $2bn in the process. London would probably be a secondary venue alongside Hong Kong.
The same venues are under consideration for the Hutchison telecoms unit, which includes its international mobile brand Three, and has the potential to be one of London’s biggest new listings in recent years. People familiar with the matter said London had a stronger chance of winning the primary listing for the telecoms arm than for the health and beauty business.
Pets and vets
Vet chain IVC Evidensia, backed by private equity groups EQT and Silver Lake, is tipped to pull the trigger on a London listing after a long delay as the industry waited for the outcome of a marketwide investigation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
There had been fears that IVC, chaired by former SSP and WHSmith boss Kate Swann, could snub London if the regulator cracked down too hard. The company, which has 1,000 vet practices across the UK, was valued at £10.3bn in a 2021 fundraising and could yet delay a listing beyond 2026.
Books, beaches and other businesses
Waterstones has regularly been linked to a listing with James Daunt, its chief executive and founder of Daunt Books, saying that a flotation would be a “logical” next step for its owners.
Hedge fund Elliott took control of Waterstones in 2018 and its US counterpart Barnes & Noble in 2019 and has already approached advisers about floating either in London or the US.
The LSE is arguing privately that the business would have a greater profile in the City and that a bookstore chain would be unlikely to make a dent on the more tech-focused US exchanges.
LoveHolidays has also been tipped for a 2026 listing although investor appetite risks being reduced by a share slump at its closest listed rival, On the Beach, after it issued a profit warning in September.
Autoglass owner Belron is also gearing up for a listing although a venue is yet to be decided, while others weighing listings include breakdown assistance provider RAC. Its rival the AA, valued at about £5bn, has attracted interest from private equity groups and strategic buyers, the FT previously reported, but a London listing remains an option.
Uzbek gold miner Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company is also expected to seek a London listing this year.