IPO market outlook for UK in 2026

Supportive market conditions have raised hopes that companies such as the RAC, Waterstones and Revolut are ready to help end the poor run for UK initial public offerings (IPOs).

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The speculation over potential flotation candidates in 2026 follows a promising finish to 2025 after Shawbrook Group (LSE:SHAW) and Princes Group (LSE:PRN) raised a total of £750 million via listings that have since secured them places in the FTSE 250 index.

Their debuts and those of Cheshire-based The Beauty Tech Group Ltd (LSE:TBTG) and the dual-listed data centre property business Fermi Inc (NASDAQ:FRMI) represent the UK’s best half-year for IPOs in three years.

The sums raised were still a far cry from the last boom year for IPOs in 2021, when the likes of Deliveroo, Dr. Martens Ordinary Shares (LSE:DOCS) and Moonpig Group Ordinary Shares (LSE:MOON) were marketed to investors.

Setbacks for many of the newcomers and persistent economic uncertainty have been factors in the slow pace of new listings since then, meaning the UK recently fell out of the top 20 for IPOs.

An uplift in listings activity is needed to fill the gap after 35 offers for mid-cap firms equating to 13% of the FTSE 250 index between the start of 2024 and the third quarter of 2025.

Peel Hunt adds that 53 FTSE 250 constituents have been taken over during the past five years: 26 by private equity, 15 by overseas corporations and 12 consolidated by UK companies.

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Deals for businesses including Dowlais, Spectris and Deliveroo amounted to £33 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, with the average bid premium at 40%.

While there were no offers for FTSE 100 companies, Flutter Entertainment (LSE:FLTR) and Ashtead Group (LSE:AHT) have or are in the process of switching their primary listings to the US.

As part of efforts to reverse the outflows, Athens-based Metlen Energy & Metals (LSE:MTLN) recently made its debut in the FTSE 100 after reforms opened the door for London-listed securities traded in euros and US dollars to be eligible for index inclusion.

Other reforms have included a three-year stamp duty holiday for newly listed companies, alongside broader proposals aimed at boosting the investment culture among savers.

However, market forces represent the best hope for an IPO revival after the FTSE 100 index recently set an all-time high and the FTSE 250 index reached its best level since 2022.

Those deciding whether to proceed with flotations will also welcome reduced levels of uncertainty and volatility, with the Budget out the way and the Vix index in benign territory.

Peel Hunt said there are a number of large issuers monitoring opportunities in the first half of 2026. It added: “The UK IPO pipeline remains constructive for 2026 and we believe issuers will have been encouraged by the recent IPO activity.”

The head of Lazard’s investment banking arm in the UK recently predicted a wave of large and mid-sized stock market debuts in London next year as companies become too big to stay in private equity hands after a series of fundraisings.

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Cyrus Kapadia told The Times: “We are aware of a number of very large potential IPOs and I imagine going into 2026 and onwards, we are going to see a number of them listing. I think the London IPO market is going to be a beneficiary of this.”

He adds that the fashion for UK companies to seek listings on Wall Street was fading, particularly as companies with a market value of “three, four or five billion, would not get the attention of investors in the US”.

Potential candidates include Uzbekistan-based gold miner NMMC, which is reportedly seeking a $20 billion (£14.9 billion) enterprise value as part of a dual listing in London and Tashkent.

Recent IPO media speculation reveals a strong presence of financial and fintech companies among the list of potential UK newcomers, led by Canary Wharf-based digital bank Revolut.

A recent funding round valued Revolut at $75 billion (£57 billion), more than the market capitalisation of Barclays (LSE:BARC) and NatWest Group (LSE:NWG). The next step may be an IPO, with London and New York’s Nasdaq seen as the preferred joint locations.

In May, it was reported that fellow digital bank Monzo had been working with Morgan Stanley on a potential stock market listing worth as much as £6 billion.

Meanwhile, the owners of roadside recovery firms AA and the RAC are believed to be considering options that include stock market flotations.

Sky News reported in July that CVC Capital Partners, the Singaporean sovereign investment fund GIC and Silver Lake Partners were in discussions about an auction or float.

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A valuation of between £4 billion and £5 billion has been mentioned, which compares with the £1 billion price tag when Aviva (LSE:AV.) sold the business to buyout firm Carlyle in 2011.

The same report said that the private equity owners of AA were at an earlier stage in their deliberations than the RAC’s owners.

It has also been reported that the American owner of Waterstones and Barnes & Noble is considering a move to float the booksellers in London or New York.

According to The Times in mid-December, Elliott Management has approached advisers with a view to appointing investment banks to work on a multibillion-pound IPO early next year.

The investment firm bought Waterstones in 2018 for an undisclosed sum before acquiring Barnes & Noble in 2019 for about $683 million.