In the first half of 2025, only five companies decided to go public on the London Stock Exchange. Together, they raised just £160 million, which is about $218.6 million. This is the lowest amount of money raised from IPOs in London in the first six months of any year since 1995, when the data was first tracked.

To understand how serious this is, it helps to look back at the 2008 global financial crisis. Even then, two companies raised £222 million through IPOs in London in the first half of 2009. That’s £62 million more than what has been raised so far in 2025, even though today’s economy is not going through a similar crisis.

The biggest IPO in London this year came from a company called MHA, which offers professional services. It joined the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in April and raised £98 million. This single IPO made up over 60% of the total money raised through IPOs in London this year, showing just how few large listings are happening.

At the same time, the United States is seeing much more action. In the first half of 2025, 156 companies went public in the U.S., raising a massive $28.3 billion. This big difference shows that more companies prefer the U.S. market right now.

One reason for this trend is that many companies are rethinking where they want to list their shares. Some big names have decided not to list in London. For example, the Chinese fashion brand Shein was once expected to go public in London, but it now plans to list in Hong Kong instead. Another company, Cobalt Holdings, which is backed by Glencore, also cancelled its London IPO plans recently.

Even companies that are already listed in London are thinking about moving. In June, the British financial tech company Wise said it would switch its main listing to New York. The CEO explained that the U.S. offers better access to big investors and more money. This change would also help raise the company’s name in the American market.

There are also reports that AstraZeneca, one of the biggest companies in the UK and the most valuable on the FTSE 100 index, might also move to the U.S. If that happens, it would be another big hit to London’s place as a top financial hub.

Still, not everyone believes the situation is hopeless. Some people in the market are seeing signs that things might slowly get better. Samuel Kerr, who works in equity capital markets at Mergermarket, said that even though things have been bad, some businesses are starting to take a fresh look at listing in London. This change in attitude could be thanks to new reforms and changes in U.K. policies over the last few years.

The new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has also promised to help bring more life back into the country’s markets. He wants to cut down on rules that may be blocking investment. In fact, last year, the Financial Conduct Authority made changes to make it easier for companies to go public in London.

Samuel Kerr believes that if this early interest turns into actual IPOs, then London could start to recover and leave behind its “gloomy” reputation. As an example, a recent report by the Financial Times said that a Norwegian software company called Wisma is planning to go public in London. This shows that even though things are tough right now, not all hope is lost for the city’s IPO scene.