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Summary
- The LSE has witnessed a huge jump in IPO listings in H1 2021, raising over £27 billion in equity in H1 2021.
- There were many new listings that performed outstandingly well on the bourses.
- The UK has proposed new listing rules to remain competitive against other exchanges, post Brexit
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has witnessed a huge jump in initial public offerings this year, especially in the tech sector.
LSE saw a rise in the number of listings to 49 IPOs during H1 2021, which had raised about £9 billion. This was the highest number of IPOs in the first half of a year since H1 2017. Tech and consumer internet accounted for over 50 per cent of the new listings on the LSE.
There was a whopping 467 per cent increase in IPOs being listed on the exchange in H1 2021, compared to H1 2020, according to a report by law firm Baker Mackenzie. This IPO boom has been driven by UK’s new tax incentives and a burgeoning venture capital ecosystem.
The LSE has also proposed some new IPO listing rules such to streamline its IPO process to allow dual-class structures, easing rules related to special purpose acquisition companies (SPAC), subject to certain conditions and other changes.
The proposed rules changes come as the UK aims to remain competitive against other global exchanges in a post-Brexit environment. As the number of public listings are increasing in 2021, so have the number of IPOs that have had a bumper debut this year.
- Wise PLC (LON: WISE)
Main market listed company Wise is a UK based financial technology company aimed a cheaply transferring money. The company, which was previously known as TransferWise, was listed on the LSE on 7 July in an unconventional listing method via a direct listing.
Wise’s shares opened at GBX 800 per share on the day of its listing, giving the company a market valuation of £8 billion (US$ 11 billion). The US$ 11 billion market valuation was over 2x the company’s valuation of US$ 5 billion prior to listing. It is the first direct listing for the LSE and is also the biggest tech listing by market cap in the exchange’s history.
The company’s market cap currently stands at £9.727 billion as of 4 August.
Also Read: Wise Plc’s listing on LSE comes as a major feat for the London tech market
- Darktrace PLC (LON: DARK)
Darktrace is an artificial intelligence powered cyber security company and was listed on the LSE Main market on 30 April. The company’s shares opened at GBX 250 on its listing day, thus giving it a market capitalisation of £1.7 billion.
Darktrace’s shares jumped by about 43 per cent to GBX 358 in just fifteen minutes of trading, from its listing price the first day of trading.
Dark increased its FY 2022 outlook in a recent trading update, forecasting its constant currency Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) to increase between 32 per cent and 34 per cent due to a strong FY 2021 performance.
The new FY 2022 ARR estimates are up from previous guidance which ranged between 26.5 per cent and 29.5 per cent.
The company’s market cap currently stands at £4.858 billion as of 4 August.
- Moonpig Group PLC (LON:MOON)
FTSE 250 index constituent Moonpig is a UK based online greeting card business, which listed on the LSE on 2 February. The company’s shares rose by 17 per cent on the day of its listing, up from its opening price of GBX 350.00 and the public listing raised £491 million for the company and shareholders.
Moonpig recently announced its FY 2021 results, reporting its revenue jumped by 113 per cent to £368.2 million, from £173.1 million in FY 2020 due to strong new customer acquisition and higher purchase frequency.
The company’s market cap currently stands at £1.300 billion as of 4 August, and its earnings per share stand at 102.33.
Also Read: Rivian IPO: When to expect the listing of Ford backed EV maker
- Trustpilot Group PLC (LON:TRST)
Main market listed company Trustpilot Group is an independent review platform that was listed on the LSE on 23 March. The company’s shares rose by 16 per cent from its offer price of £2.65 on the listing day, and the company raised up to £473 million from the IPO.
In a recently announced trading update, the company expects its H1 2021 total revenue to reach US$ 62 million, from US$ 48 million in H1 2020, due to improved business performance and an increase in bookings growth.
The company’s market cap currently stands at £1.457 billion as of 4 August.
- Auction Technology Group (LON:ATG)
FTSE 250 listed firm Auction Technology is a digital auction company, which debuted on the LSE on 2 March. The IPO raised up to US$ 420 million and had an offer price of GBX 600 per share.
The company recently got admitted into the LSE mid cap segment after raising about £244.0 million from a placing of 20 million new shares. The share placement was done in order to raise funds for acquiring the online auction website LiveAuctioneers.
The company’s market cap currently stands at £1.663 billion as of 4 August.
