In fact, 2014 IPO activity has almost quadrupled compared to last year. In the nine months to September 2014, £31.8bn has been raised by 289 companies.
Mark Hughes, partner in the UK Capital Markets Group at PwC, said: “The European IPO market performed strongly against a backdrop of geo-political uncertainty in the Ukraine and the Middle East and, closer to home, the Scottish Referendum.
“While we have seen a promising start to the final quarter with a number of large IPOs completing there are a number of warning signs on the horizon. However, if the markets continue to be receptive to IPOs, the fourth quarter should surpass the €15bn (£11.8bn) raised in Q4 2013.”
The exchanges of London, Milan and Euronext accounted for the majority of proceeds raised in the quarter, together contributing over 70 per cent of the total IPO proceeds in Q3 2014. Euronext saw eight IPOs, with the largest IPO of the quarter, NN Group, contributing almost 90 per cent of exchange proceeds. Milan raised €1.1bn (£0.9bn) from ten IPOs and London continued to be the busiest IPO centre in Europe with 23 companies.
Financials dominated the quarter, contributing nearly half of the proceeds raised, with 14 companies raising €3.1bn (£2.4bn) and four IPOs in the top ten.
Global IPO activity year to date stands at its highest level since PwC started publishing ‘IPO Watch‘.
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