FX.co ★ European stock exchanges raised more money in the pandemic than before

The European IPO market raised more money in 2020 than it did last 2019. And this is despite the pandemic, the crisis in the health system, and the uncertainty in the Brexit negotiations. Thus, the European stock exchanges have implemented 161 first public offerings of shares worth $28.3 billion. For comparison, in 2019, stock exchanges in Europe held 136 first public offerings worth $26.7 billion.

In the current year, 33 deals worth $11.3 billion were concluded in London alone, which is more than a third of all revenues in Europe. transactions included a number of international issuers: Kazakhstan digital retail bank Kaspi.kz and two Chinese companies worth $2 billion. The largest first public offering can boast online shopping store THG Holdings Ltd.

However, the performance of the UK stock market leaves much to be desired: the FTSE 100 index has fallen by 13% this year, the STOXX Europe 600 index by 5.6%, and the domestic-oriented FTSE 250 by 9.8%. The UK economy is experiencing its worst stagnation in a century.

But even despite the obvious stagnation in the economy, analysts predict a real hype in the European IPO market next year. The UK authorities, for example, in November this year issued a review of the listing rules in order to attract new technology and innovative companies to the London Stock Exchange, in order to strengthen its status as a global financial center.

The most successful is expected to be the London-based food delivery startup Deliveroo. Success will be determined by the possibility of listing after the growth of the customer base, which is increasingly connecting the Deliveroo mobile app during self-isolation. Cybersecurity companies Darktrace Ltd., whose services are very popular with London banks, also predict success.

In the past, the leaders on the stock exchange were countries such as Italy, Germany, and France, but this year they have significantly reduced their activity and suffer large losses.

Northern Europe also showed a noticeable breakthrough in listings in 2020. Thus, in the capital of Norway, Oslo, 34 transactions were completed, which is almost six times more than last year. The Norwegian exchange owes its popularity to the digitization of the IPO process during the coronavirus crisis, as well as the participation of many eminent investors, who previously dominated mainly in Swedish listings.

Sweden ranked third in the popularity of stock exchanges in 2020. The Swedish Stock Exchange has held 29 IPOs for a total of $2.6 billion thanks to the prestige of emerging companies and high technology.

During the pandemic, Warsaw stood out among peripheral markets with its largest listing, Allegro.eu.