London IPOs to watch out for in 2026

It’s safe to say that 2025 won’t go down in history as a blockbuster year for London IPOs. During the first nine months, the UK capital stock even trailed the Omani and Mexican exchanges in terms of capital raised on market debut.

We can take some solace from the large number of new listings that occur towards the end of the year. The first is the small but fast-growing Beauty Tech Group, a personal health technology brand. Then canned tuna giant Princes and midstream lender Shawbrook both listed within two days.

Apart from those remains, there wasn’t much to celebrate. Lower liquidity, poor valuations and very dismal fund outflows – meaning investors are pulling money out of UK-based funds – have all weakened what was once the world’s leading exchange. Add in a slew of grim economic news in 2025 – from Donald Trump’s tariffs, higher-than-expected inflation and the domestic economy – and the company’s reasons for delaying a risky debut become even easier to make.

But that’s just the way they always do it, investment bankers and City attorneys say AM City A sunlit plateau will occur in 2026, thanks to a combination of the private equity cycle coming to an end and – hopefully – the return of calmer market conditions.

But who are the main competitors? Here are five debuts to look out for next year.

Waterstone (and Barnes & Noble)

First up, there’s everyone’s second favorite book chain, Waterstones, whose boss, James Daunt, inadvertently takes top spot on any discerning reader’s list. Its current owners, Elliott management, have suggested that they may seek to exit their stakes in America’s Barnes & Noble and Waterstones early next year, eight years after taking over the bookseller from a Russian billionaire.

Activist investor Elliott is said to be considering London and New York as options for joining, with London appearing to be the top choice. The group turned over around £2.5bn last year, with profits of £300m, so expect a solid valuation.

Visma

Visma will be a less familiar name than Waterstones, but could gain a larger market capitalization if the company finally follows through on its desire to launch shares next year. In August it emerged that the exciting Norwegian software company had chosen London over Amsterdam as its future financial home, valuing it at around £17.5 billion, which would be a blockbuster for London.

If this happens, the IPO would be a huge boon for the UK exchange, which has a poor record in attracting and retaining ambitious technology companies. Darktrace and Wise have both abandoned their London listings at various times in the last half decade, while buy now pay later giants Klarna and Arm have both abandoned London for a brighter life in New York.

Ride Navoi

Gold has been one of the best performing assets this year, and it’s surprising that we haven’t seen more IPOs from miners – big or small – looking to capitalize on the huge valuations generated by the rally.

However, one of the few companies that has clearly stated its intentions is Navoi (or, to use its full name, Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company). The Uzbek miner is the world’s fourth-largest gold producer and is said to be aiming for a valuation of $20 billion.

Fintech: Zilch, Starling… and Revolut?

And our final competitor – we hope you’ll indulge us a bit here – is ‘fintech’.

Collectively, these have been the biggest question marks hanging over London’s capital markets in the last half decade… but could 2026 – finally – be the year we have several successful fintech IPOs?

The top contender is widely believed to be Zilch, the payments company founded by serial tech entrepreneur Philip Belamant, his brother Serge and Sean O’Connor in 2018. Belament previously said it would be “awesome” to list and that doing so in the Square Mile was “the right thing”.

Not long behind Zilch in the pecking order, is Starling. The neobank has overhauled its structure in a bid to make it fit for a listing it says will carry a $4 billion valuation.

And finally, could 2026 be the year we see the £75 billion fintech giant, Revolut, decide to put us all out of our misery and adrift? Although it still does not have a banking license, it is the UK’s most valuable bank. In 2024, founder Nik Storonsky previously said it would be “irrational” for the bank to list in London – but rumors suggest the group is now considering a dual listing with the US.