London’s Capital Markets: Open for Ambitious Companies
By CavendishCavendish: Last Growth Market IPO of 2024, First of 2025.
Cavendish is the leading UK investment bank for growth companies, operating across private and public markets.
Cavendish ended 2024 with the final IPO of the year and has already set the tone for 2025, with the first London growth market IPO. These listings reinforce that the market is open for the right businesses – companies with strong fundamentals, in growth sectors, with defensive business models, and experienced leadership teams.
- Amcomri Group plc (December 2024) – Raising capital to support its ‘buy, improve, build’ strategy in industrial manufacturing.
- Shares were up 4.4% on debut, proving that investors are still backing strong, cash-generative businesses.
- RC Fornax plc (February 2025) – Raising capital to fund AI-driven procurement automation in the defence sector.
- Early trading saw shares climb 6.6%, reflecting demand for companies with technological innovation in high-growth sectors.
We see a lot of momentum going into 2025. Amcomri and RC Fornax are companies with clear potential and in high growth sectors, and their successful IPOs demonstrate that the right businesses can attract strong investor demand.
Just to contextualise the scale of activity within the market; we’ve done over 170 IPO related meetings since the beginning of the year. The consistent feedback has been that fund managers are actively deploying capital into companies and want to meet more.
Whilst 2024 IPO activity was muted, the post market performance was anything but; with average returns for 2024 UK IPOs at 36%, significantly outperforming the broader market.
We must also remember that the market forces are cyclical as well as structural. Anecdotally, there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that the cycle is starting to turn. The UK is well placed within global markets; there has been such significant regulatory reform over the last year such that it’s far more competitive now to be a listed business, than it’s ever been before.
Focus has now turned to growth companies, with our Chair, Lisa Gordon, recently appointed to the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce to represent this market’s interests.
I strongly believe that London remains a global powerhouse for raising capital, and our growth markets are world class; playing an integral part within overall capital market efficiency.”
It is also important to consider the UK market within the broader context of global markets. The cadence of public-to-private take-out activity, coupled with other emerging trends in private markets, is shaping the landscape in ways that can affect both investor sentiment and corporate strategies. Cavendish’s Head of Equity Strategy, Roger Lee and Head of Public M&A, Henrik Persson, provide their insights on the UK’s evolving market dynamics and how these are being influenced by domestic and international factors.
Whilst the UK economy is undoubtedly slowing, we believe the Bank of England have plenty of scope to cut interest rates over the course of the year. Falling interest rates are generally very positive for Small and Mid-Cap companies and so a rising equity market should present a favourable back drop for IPO’s in 2025.”
Takeover activity remains elevated and looks very likely to continue to do so. What has changed, however – and this is a key consideration in advising on these plans for both buyside and target-side – is the clear shift in shareholder sentiment. Institutional investors remain under pressure, but they feel confident and emboldened in resisting takeovers that undervalue their companies. Instead, they are often reinforcing their long-term support for management and their growth opportunities in the public markets.”
AIM and Growth Company IPO Forum
We recently hosted an IPO Forum in partnership with the London Stock Exchange, BDO, and Gowling WLG. The event attracted approximately 150 guests from 120 companies, and the high demand was such that the London Stock Exchange had to open its overflow room to accommodate everyone.
The forum highlighted the accessibility of public markets and the long-term support they provide to management teams—not only during periods of growth but also through challenges.
We heard insights from some of the UK’s most active public company investors, deploying patient, permanent capital across a diverse range of
businesses. Key investment themes included the importance of having significant competitive advantages, strong cash flow returns, and how investors back people as much as business models.
We also heard from companies that have successfully leveraged public markets as a growth accelerator. The discussion extended to the evolving relationship between private and public markets. While recent years have seen a rise in public-to-private transactions, there was a notable conversation around the potential return of the “Re-IPO.”
Entrepreneur Insights
There is no doubt that being public gives you that long term growth capital. Ideagen is a great example of accessing follow on funding; we did multiple capital raises, with 7 raises across 10 years, raising nearly £350m during that period of time for acquisitions. Being able to run at your own pace and to your own timetable was really important. And the autonomy, there is no doubt being a young and fairly inexperienced company at the time, we were allowed to make mistakes, which we probably wouldn’t have got away with in a private equity market…
I truly believe that long term access to growth capital was the reason Ideagen was such a success on the public markets for so long and I don’t think we would be where we are today, which is a pretty significant sized UK software company, without having had that long term exposure to the capital markets.
Being able to create and grow a business in my own back yard, 3 miles from where my Mum still lives, is a pretty unique and amazing experience and I genuinely believe that the capital markets have enabled us to invest in UK tech.”
Fund Manager Insights
There is always an assumption that investors are investing in ideas, but the truth is we invest in people, that’s the most important thing. If we believe that the entrepreneurs and founders can execute on the strategy that they are selling to us, we tend to support them. It’s the people that make the business. Every single business is a people business, because if it fails at the top, it crashes at the bottom.”
It is far more competitive being a listed business than ever before… It feels to me that fund managers, asset managers, companies and regulators, for the first time in so long are all pointed in the same direction and making real change.”
“We are getting back to a sense in the market where the research is sensible, numbers being put out are sensible and valuations are in a sensible ball park, so we can all be on the pitch together.”
The IPO Forum served as an excellent opportunity to connect ambitious businesses with capital, and based on the energy in the room, we are highly optimistic about the pivotal role capital markets will play in scaling the next generation of FTSE 100 companies.
The level of engagement and direct interest from growth businesses considering an IPO highlights a clear shift from hesitation to action.”
The Benefits of AIM for Growing Businesses
In this video, our Chair, Lisa Gordon, explains how AIM provides growth capital without debt, enables employee share ownership, enhances credibility for business relationships, and fosters a dynamic, entrepreneur-friendly environment.
UK’s Global Standing:
London’s Competitive Edge
London remains a powerhouse for raising capital:
- £25.3bn was raised in London through IPOs and follow-ons in 2024—2.6x more than the next largest European exchange (Paris).
- 45% of all European growth market capital in 2024 was raised on AIM.
- London remains the most international exchange, attracting a more diverse investor base than Nasdaq, NYSE, or Paris.
- 290+ London-listed companies raised capital in 2024, proving the market’s ability to support businesses beyond IPO.
Looking Ahead:
Growth Companies Need an Adviser That Can Do Both
The boundary between private and public markets is more fluid than ever. Companies that once saw private capital as their sole route to growth are now recognising the long-term benefits of public markets:
- Permanent capital, not short-term funding cycles
- Liquidity for shareholders and employees
- Greater visibility, credibility, and
- access to institutional investors and follow on capital
With a track record spanning IPOs, dual track transactions, private capital raises, private M&A and debt advisory,
Cavendish is uniquely positioned to advise businesses on the right path to scale—at every stage.
For those considering an IPO in 2025, the message is clear: