Visma, a Norwegian software company, selects London for its £19 billion tech IPO, scoring a significant victory for the UK stock market.
The UK's stock market, particularly the London Stock Exchange (LSE), is facing challenges in attracting more tech Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) like that of Norwegian software firm Visma, which has provisionally chosen London for its 2023 IPO. While Visma's decision marks some progress due to recent reforms, several pending reforms and improvements are essential to sustain and increase tech listings in London.
**Key Pending Reforms and Needed Improvements:**
1. **Further Regulatory Simplification and Tailoring** The UK's 2024-2025 reforms have already improved London's attractiveness by simplifying prospectus requirements, allowing international firms to list in non-sterling currencies, and fostering tech-sector specialization targeted at Software as a Service (SaaS) and recurring revenue business models. However, more can be done:
- The UK Takeover Panel is consulting on dual-class share structures, IPOs, and share buybacks as potential avenues to make listings more flexible and appealing to tech firms that often prefer unequal voting rights to preserve founder control. - Continued streamlining to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and tailored rules that understand and accommodate distinctive tech business models are necessary to keep London's edge.
2. **Addressing Market Liquidity and Depth** A major reason tech firms list in the US is access to deeper, more liquid capital markets, which support larger fundraising and better valuation. London has seen a historic low in IPO fundraising in 2025, raising only £169 million from five IPOs in H1 2025—the lowest since 1995. Reversing this trend requires:
- Incentives to boost liquidity and investor participation in tech IPOs. - Market structure reforms that reduce settlement times (e.g., T+1 settlement cycles implemented recently) and other frictions to improve trading efficiency.
3. **Introducing New Market Structures for Private and Growth Companies** The launch of the UK's private stock market "PISCES" later in 2025 aims to give investors access to non-public growth companies and potentially serve as a stepping stone to public markets. Expanding such innovative market structures could support tech firms in different growth phases and improve the overall ecosystem.
4. **Rebuilding London's Global Capital Market Competitiveness** The ongoing exodus of some notable tech and fintech firms highlights the need for a broader strategy to restore London's global financial hub status. This may include:
- Enhancing international positioning and addressing geopolitical and regulatory concerns that drive firms elsewhere. - Maintaining the post-Brexit agility advantage while ensuring regulatory certainty and investor protections.
**Summary Table Comparing London's Situation and Needed Reforms:**
| Challenge | Current Status | Needed Reform | |---------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------| | Regulatory Framework | Simplified, tech-focused but evolving | Finalize flexible share structures; reduce red tape further[1][3] | | Market Liquidity & Depth | Historic IPO lows; less liquid than US | Boost liquidity, deepen markets, improve settlement[2][1] | | Market Structures for Growth | New private market "PISCES" launching | Support private-to-public transitions; diversify funding options[4] | | Global Competitiveness | Losing firms to US/HK; geopolitical shifts| Enhance global positioning, maintain UK regulatory agility[1][5] |
In conclusion, while the UK's recent reforms have laid a promising foundation for tech IPO tailwinds—evidenced by Visma's choice to list in London—the market still urgently needs further regulatory flexibility (notably around share structures), enhanced market liquidity, supportive new market platforms, and a coherent strategy to bolster London's position as a global tech IPO destination to attract more tech firms and reverse the recent trend of companies shifting their listings to New York or other financial centers[1][2][3][4][5].
Notably, Swedish fintech Klarna has confirmed plans to go public in New York, while British chip designer Arm chose to go public in New York in 2023. British private equity firm Hg acquired a 70% stake in Visma in 2006 at a valuation of £380mn (€445mn). Poppy Gustafsson, the UK government's minister for investment and former CEO of cybersecurity firm Darktrace, stated that there are good potential IPOs queuing up, as reported at the annual Investment Association conference in London. Visma initially considered listing in Amsterdam but has since opted for London. The IPO market in the UK is being worked on to revive it, as stated by Poppy Gustafsson. In 2024, 88 companies either delisted or shifted their primary listing away from London's main market, while only 18 new firms joined, according to the LSE's own data.
- To sustain and increase tech listings in London, it is crucial to finalize flexible share structures, reduce regulatory red tape, and deepen market liquidity, as these reforms can make London more appealing to tech firms compared to the US.
- Moreover, supporting private-to-public transitions and diversifying funding options through new market structures like the UK's private stock market "PISCES" could bolster the overall ecosystem and attract more tech firms to list in London.
