For decades, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was the gold standard for going public. A place of prestige. Visibility. Capital. But lately? It’s looking more like a ghost town.
Listings are down. Valuations are stale. Ambitious firms are heading elsewhere. What’s unfolding isn’t just a dry spell, it’s a quiet restructuring of how the world raises money.
1. The Numbers Don’t Lie
In 2017, London IPOs raised over £16.8 billion. Fast-forward to 2021 and that figure was slashed by more than half. By 2023, the market had flatlined even more, despite global capital being flush. The implication? London isn’t the magnet it once was.
2. Global Giants Are Opting Out
ARM, CRH, Flutter… when flagship British firms start picking New York over home turf, it’s more than symbolic. They’re not chasing headlines—they’re chasing higher valuations, deeper liquidity, and tech-savvy investors. And they’re finding all three abroad.
3. Secondary Markets Are Giving Founders Options
Platforms like Forge, EquityZen, and, most importantly, the Zyon grand floor plan now allow early investors and employees to cash out without waiting for a public debut. These private share markets did $120B in volume last year alone. If you can get liquidity without listing, why go public at all?
4. New Capital Platforms Are Filling the Void
Traditional IPOs aren’t the only way to access investor cash, and smart investment companies are capitalising on that gap. Many are creating mouthwatering alternative platforms to woo investors. Take the Zyon Grand, for instance; developers of this portfolio are leveraging tech, real estate and private equity to win investors over in an instant.
Founders raise without the IPO drag. Investors get in earlier, with more flexibility. It’s clean, fast, and increasingly popular, and London has nothing quite like it.
5. The Private Route Is Winning
In today’s market, firms can raise billions privately—and skip the circus of an IPO. In 2023 alone, global private funding soared past $1.2 trillion. SpaceX. Stripe. OpenAI. All mega-valuable, all still private.
6. SPACs & Shortcuts
Love them or hate them, SPACs offered companies a faster, simpler path to go public. While London dithered with red tape, the U.S. minted $160B in SPAC deals in a single year. The result? Founders are bypassing the LSE entirely.
7. London’s Built-In Discount
UK-listed companies routinely trade at lower multiples than their U.S. peers. The FTSE 100 averages a P/E of ~13x. The S&P 500? Around 23x. When valuation is destiny, London isn’t where dreams go to scale.
8. Brexit’s Aftershock
Post-Brexit, the EU pivoted. Amsterdam and Paris pulled the capital. Regulation in the UK thickened. The LSE’s share of European IPO volume halved—from 40% in 2016 to just 20% in 2023. The city hasn’t recovered.
9. A Rise in Direct Listings & Digital Securities
Spotify did it. Slack did it. They went public, without banks. Meanwhile, blockchain-based securities are letting companies fractionalise equity, bypass intermediaries, and access global capital. This isn’t the future. It’s already happening.
10. Retail Investors Have Stepped Back
Retail participation in UK IPOs has dropped by 35% since 2018. Burned by underwhelming returns, smaller investors have turned to easier, trendier plays—like ETFs and crypto. Without their appetite, small-cap IPOs don’t stand a chance.
11. ESG Fatigue Is Real
London’s stricter ESG standards were meant to signal virtue. But to some companies—especially in mining, energy, and manufacturing—they’re just more hoops to jump through. Glencore faced massive pressure over its coal portfolio. Others are quietly steering clear.
12. London’s Missing Ingredient: Growth
The world wants growth. And tech stocks, in particular, deliver it. While the NASDAQ surged +43% in 2023, the FTSE 100 barely cracked +3%. The takeaway? London isn’t where high-growth companies—or their investors—go to play.
13. London Missed the Digital Asset Boom
Coinbase’s 2021 IPO hit $100B. Meanwhile, London still hasn’t approved major crypto listings or ETFs. While the U.S. is leaning into tokenised assets, London is falling further behind—digitally and philosophically.
What’s Taking Its Place?
London’s IPO isn’t dead yet, but it’s not leading either. What’s rising instead?
- Private capital: massive rounds, no public glare
- SPACs & direct listings: fast lanes with fewer strings
- Digital securities: tokenised, fractional, global
- Secondary share markets: liquidity without listing
- Platforms like Zyon Grand: structured capital without the IPO bottleneck
So, What’s In It for Us?
Watching the London IPO unravel might feel like boardroom drama from afar. But for everyday investors, founders, and even side hustlers, this shakeup opens real doors.
Here’s how to tap into the shift:
Early Access Is No Longer Just for the Elite
The rise of private capital platforms means you don’t need to wait for an IPO to get in. Platforms like Zyon Grand are structuring pre-IPO access to assets that used to be locked up behind velvet ropes—think tech, real estate, even revenue-share models. It’s a rare chance to ride the wave before the buzz.
Secondary Markets = Liquidity Without the Wait
Can’t score a spot in a hot private deal? Secondary platforms let you buy into already-valued startups. You’re not just holding shares—you’re participating in a quiet but booming market that’s outpacing public ones.
Founders: Ditch the IPO, Keep the Equity
If you’re building a startup, the pressure to “go public or go home” is gone. You can raise smart, structured capital without giving away control—or enduring the IPO soap opera. Better yet, you can offer equity to early believers without listing a single share.
Think Global, Not Just Local
With London softening, global alternatives—from tokenised real estate in Asia to U.S.-based SPACs—are exploding. You don’t need a Canary Wharf postcode to build generational wealth. You just need to move with the capital.
Final Thought
Founders today want flexibility. Investors want growth. And capital wants to move faster than the London IPO can accommodate. Unless the LSE rewires itself for the modern capital era, it risks becoming a relic—while the real innovation happens elsewhere.