IPO volumes rose strongly in Europe in 2024, signalling a gradual rebound after two years of subdued issuance. There are signs that public offerings will climb again this year, according to Richard Cormack in Goldman Sachs Global Banking & Markets.
Cormack points out that the region’s IPO volume last year, while up about 80% from 2024, was still about a third below the longer-term average. “We should be getting closer to normalized volumes this year,” says Cormack, the head of Equity Capital Markets in EMEA. He says the calendar for potential public offerings is busier than it was a year ago, and there are more conversations in particular with private equity sponsors.
While the pace of IPOs has been muted in Europe, follow-on equity offerings have been robust: Accelerated bookbuild offerings (ABO) are back to about historical levels, Cormack says, and there have already been deals in 2025 that have raised more than €1 billion ($1.03 billion) each.
“The equity capital markets in Europe are absolutely open,” he says. “Their ability to absorb large placings of stock is 100% proven” he notes, citing a number of large sell-down programs and placings last year such as those in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), consumer health company Haleon, and others.
“Equity markets have recovered, share prices have recovered,” Cormack says. “You're getting normalized discounts off of normalized share prices.” The strength of the ABO market is seen as an important backdrop for the IPO market.
He notes that the discount that investors sought for investing in an IPO narrowed over 2024. As that discount continues to shrink, issuers have become more comfortable embarking on an IPO.
Will private equity firms drive more IPOs?
Recent offerings have demonstrated to private equity executives that public markets are open and available to them to monetize their investments through IPOs, Cormack says. “The pace of dialogues we're having with the sponsor community is increasing pretty significantly,” he says.
“Last year, we did see a big pickup in sponsor activity,” Cormack adds, noting that equity capital market activity stemming from private equity firms increased nearly 50% compared with 2023.
And after a few years of subdued offerings by private equity firms, he says there’s increasing pressure for these firms to publicly list their investments.
“At some point, that pressure needs to lift,” he says. “That's not only going to be in the IPO market. There'll be M&A activity around that. There'll be leveraged buyouts, etc. There’s a real recognition in the conversations I have with private equity that the public market is going to play its part in that. Inevitably, that will lead to an increase in activity.”
Cormack also cautions that it will take time for offerings to build up to historic levels. He says the “plumbing is being put in place” for a large cohort of transactions to take place a year from now. “Sequentially, each quarter, we should see more offerings,” Cormack says.
What’s the outlook for IPOs in the UK?
Some of the larger deals in 2024 took place on the continent, whereas offerings in the UK were quieter. “I don't think that's because the UK market isn't open — or any more open or less open — than the rest of Europe,” Cormack says. “The investor base is dramatically similar” in the IPO hubs of Amsterdam and London, for example.
That said, Cormack notes that the UK economy has faced some headwinds as well as political uncertainty amid last year’s election. “The kind of discussions we're having with issuers suggests to me that that backlog and pipeline will build as we go through the year, and you'll start to see more transactions,” he says.
Some companies have attracted attention by changing their listings from London to New York. Cormack says there are companies from the UK and the rest of Europe that are predisposed to listing in the US: particularly businesses that are geographically exposed to the US, and high-growth companies that won’t see profitability until further into the future. He points out that there’s more willingness to value the latter among US investors, and a deeper pool of capital to fund them.
“Outside of those two conditions, I don't think you'll see a flood of indigenous UK or indigenous European non-tech, non-biopharma companies list outside of their home market,” Cormack says.
This article is being provided for educational purposes only. The information contained in this article does not constitute a recommendation from any Goldman Sachs entity to the recipient, and Goldman Sachs is not providing any financial, economic, legal, investment, accounting, or tax advice through this article or to its recipient. Neither Goldman Sachs nor any of its affiliates makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the statements or any information contained in this article and any liability therefore (including in respect of direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage) is expressly disclaimed.
Our weekly newsletter with insights and intelligence from across the firm
By submitting this information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Goldman Sachs and accept our privacy policy. You can opt-out at any time.