IPO activity hits twenty-year low
No new trading companies have listed so far in 2003 to the main UK initial public offering market, making this the quietest quarter for over 20 years.
Link: Price of companies falling
Activity was limited to two investment trust listings raising a total of £14.55m, according to a survey by KPMG corporate finance.
‘The market has been dormant since the middle of last year and shows no immediate signs of reawakening. Amidst current economic jitters and war with Iraq, layer upon layer of uncertainty is leaving investors with a loss of appetite for new entrants,’ said Neil Austin, head of new issues at KPMG Corporate Finance.
AIM, the smaller company market at the London Stock Exchange, performed much stronger than the main market with 61 trading companies joining the exchange last year. Forty of these new issues raised less than £5m each. So far in 2003, five trading companies have joined AIM raising only £5.3m in total.