Member Article

Northern IPOs contributed 60% of total funds raised on London Stock Exchange in Q1

The combined value of six Northern company IPOs contributed 60% of the total funds raised on the London Stock Exchange’s main and AIM markets in the first three months of 2015, according to EY’s latest IPO Eye report.

The listing of Manchester-headquartered Auto Trader, which raised £1.36bn, was the largest of the period and made up the lion’s share of the £1.61bn generated by Northern company IPOs in the first quarter.

The value of funds raised on the UK public markets by Northern businesses in Q1 2015 showed a marginal 2% increase on the corresponding period last year, when five flotations – including B&M Bargains – raised a total of £1.58bn.

The North’s share of the total value raised by flotations on the London markets grew from 26% in the first three months of 2014 to 60% in Q1 2015.

On the main market, there were 10 IPOs over the first three months of 2015 – up from seven in Q1 2014 (£4.74bn) – raising £2.62bn.

Two of these 10 were North West firms, comprising Auto Trader and Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group.

Partner and North West IPO Leader at EY, Richard Harding, said: “In what is traditionally a quiet period for IPOs, the first three months of this year benefitted from a high number of businesses keen to float on the main market before the general election in May.

“That said, volumes of admissions to AIM declined significantly and the total value raised across both markets fell compared to last year.

“Listings for a range of Northern businesses illustrate the operational discipline, growth track records and strong overall propositions of corporates based across the North West, Yorkshire and the North East.

“While the total value of Northern IPOs in Q1 was propped-up by the listing of Auto Trader – similar to B&M Bargains’ impact in the first three months of 2014 – the growth in number against a backdrop of declining IPO volumes on the London markets is pleasing, and shows the strong pipeline of IPO opportunities generated in the North.

“We expect activity leading up to and directly following the general election to slow, leading to a significant dip in the number of floats from businesses based in the North and the wider UK during the second quarter.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophia Taha .