Investors feasted on £13.6bn in London-listed IPOs last year
Hungry investors feasted on billions of pounds in initial public offerings (IPOs) on the London Stock Exchange last year.
In 2014 around 104 plucky issuers raised a total of £13.6bn on London's main and AIM markets. This represented a 10 per cent increase from the previous year's activity according to data from Thomson Reuters.
Throughout the first half of 2014 companies clamoured to take advantage of London's roaring IPO market with Pets at Home, Just Eat, AO World and Poundland all attracting attention.
The good health of the IPO market over recent years marks a welcomed departure from its dismal state six years ago, when promising young companies were cut off from the funds they needed to grow.
During the second half of the year a number of companies poured cold water on their planned flotations amid concerns about waning investor appetite exacerbated by choppy trading conditions.
In October small business bank Aldermore shelved plans for a £800m float citing a stock market slump. It came just weeks after Miller Homes cancelled its IPO due to "financial market volatility."
Concerns that the flurry of IPO activity was creating froth also slowed the market as scrupulous investors tried to avoid businesses spun out by private equity houses simply off-loading less attractive assets.