tl;dr
The UK teams up with Wall Street to revive London's struggling IPO market, as the city faces a 30-year low in fundraising and risks losing its global financial edge to New York.
**UK and Wall Street Team Up to Revive London’s Struggling IPO Market**
The UK government is forging an unprecedented alliance with Wall Street to reinvigorate London’s waning appeal as a global hub for initial public offerings (IPOs). Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Anthony Gutman, a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs, will co-host a private roundtable on Monday, bringing together tech and growth-sector executives to promote London as a viable listing destination. This move underscores growing concerns that the city risks losing its competitive edge to New York, where the IPO market is surging, particularly in tech and cryptocurrency.
**A Crisis in the City**
London’s IPO market has hit a 30-year low, with fundraising proceeds plummeting 69% to just $248 million in August—the lowest in 35 years. The city now ranks 23rd globally for IPO fundraising, trailing even Mexico. The situation is stark: the largest London IPO this year, MHA Plc’s April offering, raised £98 million, while the third quarter saw a mere $42 million in deal volume, a 85% drop from the same period last year. Small local firms, not major Wall Street banks, have dominated recent listings.
The crisis has prompted urgent action. The Treasury’s roundtable aims to gather insights on how to restore London’s attractiveness, highlighting recent reforms to boost capital market competitiveness. Lucy Rigby, the newly appointed city minister, will join Reeves and Gutman, who will outline the current state of the IPO sector.
**Wall Street’s Unusual Involvement**
Goldman Sachs’ participation in the event has drawn attention. Competitors view the collaboration as unusual, noting that it effectively grants the US bank a platform to pitch London as a listing option to companies. This partnership reflects broader fears in Westminster and the City that London could permanently cede its global listing dominance to New York, where the IPO market is booming.
**The US Surge vs. London’s Stagnation**
The contrast between the UK and US markets is glaring. In the first half of 2025, London raised just £160 million ($215 million) across five deals—the weakest performance since 1995. Meanwhile, US exchanges raised $28.3 billion through 156 listings, driven by tech and digital asset firms. Companies like Circle Internet Group, Bullish, and Figure Technology have seen explosive growth post-IPO, with Circle’s stock surging after its June debut and Bullish’s valuation nearly doubling after its August listing.
**Regulatory Hurdles and Criticisms**
London’s decline has been attributed to a mix of regulatory challenges, diversity and ESG mandates, and high stamp duty. Critics argue that stringent rules, including board diversity quotas and costly environmental disclosures, deter growth-stage companies. Crypto analyst Quiten.eth wrote, “The EU makes the same mistakes over and over… Innovation is killed by regulation before it’s viable.” Financial expert James Graham echoed these sentiments, calling DEI requirements “anti-meritocratic impositions” that undermine IPO attractiveness.
**The Treasury’s Response**
Despite the challenges, the UK government insists it is committed to making the country “the best place for businesses to start, scale, list, and stay.” Recent initiatives include the creation of a Listings Taskforce and potential stamp duty exemptions for IPOs. However, skeptics question whether these measures will be enough to reverse decades of decline.
As London seeks to reclaim its status as a global financial powerhouse, the collaboration with Goldman Sachs signals a bold but risky gamble. With New York’s IPO market thriving and regulatory hurdles persisting, the question remains: can London’s once-vibrant capital markets rise again?