London Stock Exchange raises nearly £17bn in highest IPO funding since 2007

Companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) have raised the most IPO funding in one year than in the past 14 years.

Combined, the 122 companies listed on the LSE raised more than £16.8 billion in 2021 – beating competition from the top exchange in Europe and raising the most equity outside the US and China. The LSE’s total capital raised in the year was just £50 billion, made up of £16.8 billion in IPOs and the remainder in additional offerings from existing listed companies.

The news marks a strong first year for the Capital Markets unit of the LSE Group (LSEG). Division group head Murray Roos said: “The integration of Refinitiv brought together our FX, fixed income and equity businesses to form LSEG’s capital markets division.”

The companies have seen strong growth, new customers and record numbers, he added, citing total currency volumes of more than $680 billion – a new daily record.

The news comes as capital raising in the city has increased despite ongoing Covid disruptions and as publicly traded companies have brought in nearly £25bn this year.

The year was also the biggest in more than a decade for London’s emerging market AIM, with £9 billion raised in IPO and follow-up capital – also the highest since 2007. The boom was driven in part by a rush of activity with 64 licensed companies in Raise more than £3 billion by 2021.