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.

>See also: Shortlist for M&A Awards 2015 revealed

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.

Further reading on funding: Aspin raises £25m through LDC