European IPO activity in H1’2025 remained subdued as geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty delay listings

• The EMEA IPO market entered 2025 with a positive outlook, however macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds led to a pause in IPO activity both in the region and globally in Q2.

• EMEA H1’25 IPO proceeds fell by 46% compared to H1’24 as a result.

• Recent activity in London was largely driven by demergers, primary capital raises and renewed interest in London listings from international issuers.

• Despite market turbulence, all major indices have closed H1 up on where they started the year, with DAX reaching an all-time high in June 2025.

• There are signs of selective reopening of the global IPO market with H1 proceeds up 18%, driven by activity in the US and Asia Pacific.

IPO activity on European exchanges remained subdued in H1 2025 as uncertainty caused by geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty delayed several listings, according to PwC’s latest IPO Watch EMEA report. Despite the volatility seen at the start of April, equity markets have recovered and IPO markets have selectively reopened with hope that the second half of the year H2 will see more IPOs priced.

Total H1 2025 proceeds in Europe reached €4.0bn driven by 16 IPOs in Q1 raising €3.1bn, however, this is down compared to H1 2024 which saw €11.5bn raised. 

The London IPO market 
While IPO activity was subdued in H1 (£109m proceeds raised), London’s broader equity market activity remained strong, driven by demergers, primary capital raises and new listings activity. Some of the notable transactions that took place included a demerger and listing in London of Anglo American’s platinum business, a £1.14bn capital raise by Rosebank Industries, and Metlen Energy & Metals announced its intention to move its primary listing to London.

The Middle East and African IPO markets 
Total EMEA IPO proceeds in H1 2025 were $9.4bn from 67 IPOs compared to $17.3bn from 78 listings across the same period last year. Activity in the Middle East remained robust, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA”) the most active country within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The KSA hosted 23 IPOs in the first half of the year including low-cost airline Flynas raising over $1bn on Tadawul making it the largest IPO in EMEA in 2025 so far.  

The Global IPO market 
Global IPO activity in H1’25 saw an 18% increase in proceeds rising to $58.4bn from 486 listings compared to $49.6bn raised from 444 in H1’24. Activity was led by the US, which saw proceeds up over 50% driven by the resurgence of Special Purpose Aquisition Company (SPAC) IPOs which represented over 40% of the IPO issuance in the US for H1. Asia Pacific supported with proceeds up 44%, however, EMEA saw proceeds drop 46% with Europe seeing a 65% fall in proceeds. The top ten IPOs consisted of five in the US, two from India and one in each from Japan, Saudi Arabia and Sweden. Together, the top 10 IPOs contributed $13.5bn, almost a quarter (23%) of overall IPO proceeds in H1 2025.

The largest IPO globally to date this year is the listing of JX Advanced Metals - a semiconductor materials supplier listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and raised $2.5bn.  

Kat Kravtsov, Capital Markets Director at PwC UK, said:

“As IPO markets gradually reopen, we are spending more time with issuers exploring various listing options. While the listing location of peers is important in decision making, the overarching equity story of the business, a broader understanding of the sector, and company-specific considerations around its nexus into the listing country of choice will also bedriving factors.

“The relative size of the business and its strategy direction is clearly important and early conversations with investors will help inform the decision to list. In the current environment, market agnostic early IPO readiness and agility are critical and allow issuers to react quickly to changing market conditions and address early investor feedback.”

Vhernie Manickavasagar, Capital Markets Partner at PwC UK, added,

“The global market volatility at the beginning of the second quarter, fuelled by uncertainty over global trade tariffs, understandably prompted several companies to delay their IPO plans. Despite slower IPO activity, the London market remained active with a notable demerger, capital raises and the recently announced intention to list of an international energy and metals group.

“Our expectation for the remainder for the year hinges on further stabilisation of the macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrops. Should these conditions be met, we anticipate a revival of listing activity across Europe and the UK, including further demergers and sponsor-backed IPOs, in the second half of 2025 and into 2026.”

Ends

Notes to editors

IPO Watch EMEA and Global reports on all new primary market equity IPOs on EMEA and Global principal stock markets and market segments using the Capital IQ list of exchanges mapping, on a quarterly basis. Movements between markets on the same exchange are excluded. The data in this report is based on data extracted from Capital IQ on 1 July 2025 and based on their offering date between 1 January 2025 and 30 June 2025 and excludes greenshoe.

IPO Watch EMEA 
https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/audit/insights/ipo-watch-europe.html  

IPO Watch Global: 
https://www.pwc.co.uk/services/audit/insights/global-ipo-watch.html