The number of IPO transactions completed in European markets rose by 11% in 2014, according to a report by Experian.
The IPO Transactions 2014 paper reveals that there were 279 completed IPOs on European stock exchanges last year – an 11% increase on the number seen in 2013.
The 2014 figures see European IPOs creep back up to pre-recession levels; although even in the best year since 2009 they haven’t quite reached that benchmark yet. However, around £30bn of activity was recorded by the Experian research.
This marks an increase of 16% from the 2013 figure and is the second highest value since the reporting started 10 years ago. The highest amount seen was £33bn in 2007.
One area of transaction that has surpassed pre-recession levels is the volume of large deal IPOs (£100m or more). It increased 31% between 2013 and 2014 and is higher than any other year in which figures were taken.
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The largest flotation recorded in 2014 was NN Group being accepted on to the Euronext Amsterdam platform in a deal worth £1.6bn.
London Stock Exchange
It was a strong year for the London Stock Exchange, according to the report. It saw 132 completed transactions with a combined value of £14.5bn. This represented a 33% increase in volume and 24% rise in value on 2013 figures.
The most active sectors on the London Stock Exchange were financial & insurance (£5.5bn raised in 39 deals), wholesale & retail (£5.5bn in 32 deals) and information & comms (£3.3bn in 27 deals).
On London Stock Exchange’s junior platform AIM 75 deals were recorded with a total value of £2.5bn. Reflecting the fact that AIM is still young and growing quickly, this represented an increase of 134% on the figures for 2013.
One area that saw AIM excel in 2014 was in exits. There were 10 across the 12 months with a total value of £100m.
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