A to Z of London IPOs: From Airtel to Zilch the signs are pointing to a resurgence in London listings

Key Points

• It’s been slim pickings for London IPOs the last few years but things may be turning a corner with Airtel Money, Zilch and others exploring listings

• Morningstar PitchBook said London fell out of the top 20 global IPO venues last year after a dearth of listings

• But regulatory reforms and a pipeline of strong fintech businesses means the London IPO market is looking up

Zilch, a fintech provides consumer loans, is reportedly looking at an initial public as early as next year. According to the FT, Zilch has lined up investment banks for the listing and is touted to go for a London listing. 

It comes just days after Airtel Money, the mobile payments business owned by FTSE 100 member Airtel Africa, confirmed plans to float in what's going to be the biggest London IPO in years. It's filed paperwork with the London Stock Exchange and could list within weeks.

This could signal a way back for London's capital markets after a period of deep freeze. While Morningstar PitchBook said London fell out of the top 20 global IPO venues last year, there are signs things could be changing with a slate of companies ready to go public. Britain may not have the next SpaceX  - this year's monster IPO that was a big hit with UK-based investors - or an Anthropic or OpenAI (both of which are planning on listing), but there is a better look about the pipeline these days.

Regulatory reforms by the FCA, LSE and the government have turned the tables to make London more attractive. For instance, UK Listing Relief, a three-year exemption from the 0.5% Stamp Duty Reserve Tax on share transfers for listing post-November 2025, has been credited with improving London's appeal. 

FTSE index methodology changes have also helped. First the removal of Sterling-denominated price requirement, which allows shares traded in other currencies to be included in FTSE indices. Two there have been changes to the Fast Entry thresholds, lowering the market-capitalisation requirements for companies to enter the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250.

But while the IPO pipeline appears to be as strong as it's been since at least 2021, issues are getting pushed back due to the uncertain macroeconomic backdrop of the war in the Middle East and a blowout in government bond yields. This is a reminder that plans to list don't always work out.

Here's our quick glance at the market for IPOs over the coming months - some are definite, some likely, others probably pulled indefinitely.

A to Z of London IPOs

Airtel Money – locked in 

The mobile payments business could fetch a valuation of as much as $8-9bn, raising around $800mn in the offer. The business runs branches across Africa that lets people deposit and withdraw cash using their mobile money account.  The business is being spun out of Airtel Africa, which itself debuted with a stock market listing in London in 2019. Airtel Money has over 53mn customers and reported revenues of $1.36bn in the last financial year. 

Zilch - nothing to pay until 2027

UK consumer credit company Zilch is reportedly speaking to investment banks about an IPO next year. A valuation remains unclear but it's unlikely to achieve the $2bn peak valuation achieved during a 2021 funding round. It's often been touted as a potential IPO candidate and is aiming to become profitable by the time it lists, according to the FT.  The company, which provides buy-now-pay-later products and zero-interest loans to more than 6mn customers, lost £10.5 million in its last financial year, down from £50 million the year before.

SumUp – weighing London or New York

Card reader fintech SumUp is exploring a listing in either London or New York, with a potential valuation of $10bn-$15bn, with proceeds of the IPO expected to be funnelled into an acquisition strategy in the payment processing space. While the company had explored a listing this year, macroeconomic uncertainty has pushed out the timetable to 2027.

Revolut - dual listing for FTSE entry

Digital bank Revolut might not fancy London for its main listing venue but could join the FTSE 100 after the company said it is considering a dual UK-US listing, which would be something of a coup for the City. It's perhaps disappointing that the company is not choosing London for its primary listing but its scale means it would be a strong addition to the blue chip index and helps signal a better outlook for listings in London. The company, which boasts over 80mn customers globally and saw its profits jump 57% last year, was last valued at $115bn after an employee share sale in July. Coming the IPO it could be eyeing a stock market valuation of as much as $200bn, which would make it more valuable that most stocks on the FTSE 100, save for the likes of HSBC and AstraZeneca.

Monzo – acquisition might scupper long-awaited IPO

Once the big hope for a £6bn London listing, it seems this one may not happen at all. Monzo is in talks over a sale to Brazilian fintech giant Nubank for £8bn-£10bn, which would scupper any hopes of an IPO for the digital bank.

Loveholidays – stock market arrival delayed not cancelled

Online travel agent Loveholidays pulled its planned London listing due to market volatility and the disruption to travel as a result of the US-Iran war. It's said to be aiming at a valuation of as much as £1bn when it does float, though the timetable remains unclear. The company sells package holidays to places like Dubai and Cyprus where flights and tourism have been affected by the conflict in the Middle East. 

Waterstones - Elliott to book profits

Currently owned by activist hedge fund Elliot Management, Waterstones has also been forced to delay its planned IPO. But it's still thought it will go ahead with a listing in London. It could be floated jointly with Barnes & Noble in the US and UK, with the two firms part of a broader group owned by Elliott.

RAC - brakes slammed on IPO

RAC, Britain's oldest breakdown recovery specialists, has down a u-turn and put the brakes on its £5bn IPO in favour of a private deal that will see private equity backer CVC Capital Partners consolidate its position. This could see the still-planned IPO delayed by about 18 months.

Visma - SaaSpocalpyse not now

This has been one of the most anticipated IPOs in London at the start of the year but came unstuck by the SaaSpocalypse as investors pulled bets on software stocks due to fears AI would undo their models. Private equity owner Hg recently spun out a number of  companies worth around €500mn from its €19bn software group Visma, signalling perhaps that it’s lining things up ahead of a listing, which is now expected next year.

Starling – top investor pulls support for London IPO

Neobank Starling is one of the crop of London fintechs long touted as an IPO candidate. But the growth trajectory has disappointed as revenues in the year to March fell 6%, while profits fell 3%. Its top shareholder has also reportedly withdrawn support for a London IPO, though it remains likely that the company is seeking to go public at some stage.

TCC – concrete plans to list in London?

The European arm of TCC, formerly Taiwan Cement, is reportedly looking to be ready to IPO before the year is over. According to Bloomberg it's said to favour London as the venue for the listing.

Nscale – UK AI name not heading to London

Finally, it might be bound for a New York listing but I thought it worth flagging this UK-based AI company as one to watch. The British data centre operator, which is backed by Nvidia, just won a monster contract to supply compute to Anthropic worth $45bn over six years. The company, a direct competitor to the likes of Nebius and CoreWeave, recently filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. It's aiming at a $35bn valuation but reported a $1bn loss in the first half, and was valued at just $14.6 billion six months ago.