Investing.com-- The European IPO market roared back to life in the first half of 2024, with proceeds from the sector growing more than fourfold amid improving risk appetite, a report from PwC showed.
IPO proceeds from the European market grew to 11.4 billion euros ($12.4 billion) in the first six months of the year, compared to 2.5 billion euros in the same period last year.
A bulk of this activity was in listings on Spanish, Amsterdam and French exchanges, notable examples being the 2.6 billion euro launch of fashion firm Puig Brands SA (BME:PUIGb) and 241 million euro launch of cloud technology firm Planisware SAS (EPA:PLNW).
“After a two-year pause, the European IPO market has seen a resurgence in the first half of the year. Private equity-backed IPOs have played a prominent role in this recovery, with over half of the top 10 IPOs being PE backed,” Vhernie Manickavasagar, Capital Markets Partner at PwC UK wrote in a note.
The PwC report noted that the consumer and luxury sectors were standout performers in the first half of the year, but that the pipeline of upcoming IPOs appeared more diversified. The outlook for IPOs also appeared strong well into 2025, with PwC noting that companies were preparing to appear “IPO ready” earlier to take advantage of strong listing conditions.
Strength in European IPO activity comes as the STOXX 600 notched record highs this year, buoyed by the prospect of lower interest rates in the coming months.
The European Central Bank was among the first major global central banks to cut interest rates this year, signaling that inflation was easing in the EU. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also set to follow suit in the coming months.
In terms of IPO sizes, London markets mostly lagged their European counterparts, while the Middle East and African markets saw increased activity.
This saw European IPO activity largely outperform global markets, where overall IPO proceeds fell 16% year-on-year in the first half of 2024. The drop in Chinese markets was even steeper, with proceeds tumbling 80%, PwC data showed.