🧠 Calquify Intelligence
The London Stock Exchange is losing its position as Europe's premier IPO venue — Arm Holdings' Nasdaq listing (2023; world's largest chip design company; valued at $54bn) over the LSE was a defining moment that prompted UK government emergency meetings, a Listings Review, and structural reforms that have not yet reversed the flow of major companies choosing New York over London
Arm Holdings (Cambridge, UK): designed chips used in virtually all smartphones; 2023 IPO on Nasdaq raised $4.9bn at $54bn valuation — the largest global tech IPO of 2023. The LSE actively lobbied for Arm's listing; SoftBank (Arm's owner) chose Nasdaq primarily for: higher US tech sector P/E multiples (semiconductor companies trade at 30-50× earnings in US versus 20-25× in Europe); deeper liquidity pool (Nasdaq daily volumes approximately 10-20× LSE); US analyst coverage (100+ initiating coverage of US-listed semiconductors); index inclusion (S&P 500 inclusion dramatically increases trading volumes). UK government response: Lord Hill Listings Review (2021); UK FTSE Eligibility Reform allowing 10%/90% dual-class shares (previously only at IPO stage); removal of 25% free float minimum; PISCES (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System) for pre-IPO secondary trading. Net effect: the reforms improved rules but have not materially reversed the flow — 2024 saw Ashtead Group announce US primary listing migration (FTSE 100 company), and Flutter Entertainment completed US primary listing migration.
Source: Bloomberg IPO data 2023-2024; LSEG IPO statistics; FCA Listings Rules reform; Hill Review recommendations; Arm Holdings prospectus Nasdaq 2023
Puig's €2.6bn Euronext dual-listing (Paris/Madrid) in 2024 was Europe's largest IPO and showcased the premium valuation achievable for luxury/beauty companies with strong brand portfolios — demonstrating that European exchanges can still attract blockbuster listings when the company has strong fundamentals and sector appeal
Puig S.A.: Spanish luxury and beauty conglomerate; portfolio includes Charlotte Tilbury, Dries Van Noten, Jean Paul Gaultier, Paco Rabanne, Rabanne (beauty), Penhaligon's. IPO May 2024: Euronext Paris + Madrid; raised approximately €2.6bn; IPO price €24.5; market capitalisation approximately €13.9bn at issue. First-day performance: approximately +6% to €26 — healthy IPO pop, not excessive. 6-month post-IPO: approximately +20% — strong performance driven by: luxury sector recovery in Southern Europe and travel retail; Charlotte Tilbury brand outperforming across US and EU markets; limited free float (Puig family retained approximately 80%) creating scarcity value. Key lesson: European luxury/beauty companies command significant valuation premiums on European exchanges — the relevant comparable set (LVMH, Hermès, Kering, L'Oréal) is EUR-listed, meaning European institutional investors are the natural buyers; US listing would not add meaningful valuation benefit for this sector.
Source: Puig IPO prospectus; Euronext Paris announcement; Bloomberg post-IPO performance; Dealogic IPO league table 2024
IPO first-day returns of approximately +8% in 2024 represent a return to healthy IPO market function after 2022 when many European IPOs traded below their issue price within days — but the pattern of strong first-day returns followed by 12-month underperformance (-5%) is a persistent feature of IPO markets that consistently disadvantages retail investors relative to institutional allocants
IPO structural asymmetry: the average European IPO delivers approximately +8% first-day return (institutional investors who receive allocations at IPO price profit immediately); but the 12-month post-IPO average return is approximately -5% (retail investors who buy in the aftermarket, often on the first day at elevated prices, underperform). This pattern is persistent — Jay Ritter's long-run US IPO data (1970-2020) shows similar first-day pop / 3-year underperformance across market cycles. Mechanisms: IPO underpricing is deliberate (bankers underprice to ensure strong first-day performance and successful deal completion — an 8% pop is a 'good' IPO); retail investors typically cannot access the IPO price but buy in the aftermarket; lockup expiry (180 days) creates a predictable wave of institutional selling; post-IPO earnings disappointments are common as management is optimistic during roadshow. Exceptions: some IPOs do outperform (Puig +20% in 6 months; Galderma strong performer). The conclusion: accessing IPO allocations at the offer price is valuable; buying IPOs in the aftermarket on first-day enthusiasm is historically a poor strategy.
Source: EY IPO performance data 2024; Jay Ritter University of Florida IPO data; Bloomberg European IPO monitor; Dealogic lockup expiry analysis
European IPO Volume by Exchange 2024 (€bn)
Dealogic 2024
📋 Reference Data
Notable European IPOs 2024 — Performance Data
Bloomberg + Dealogic 2024
| Company | Country | Exchange | Raised | Sector | Issue Price | 1-Day Return | 6-Month Return | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puig | Spain | Euronext Paris/Madrid | €2,6bn | Luxury/Beauty | €24,50 | ~+6% | ~+20% | Charlotte Tilbury parent; strong luxury brand portfolio |
| Galderma | Switzerland | SIX Swiss Exchange | CHF 2,3bn | Dermatology/Skincare | CHF 53,00 | ~+4% | ~+15% | KKR exit; Cetaphil/Restylane brands; strong performer |
| Douglas | Germany | SDAX | €1,1bn | Beauty retail | €26,00 | ~+3% | ~-20% | Germany's largest beauty retailer; heavy debt load from PE |
| Renk Group | Germany | MDAX | €0,7bn | Defence/industrial | €15,00 | ~+12% | ~+35% | NATO re-armament theme; gearbox for military vehicles |
| Hydroniq | Norway | Oslo Bors | €0,3bn | Marine cooling | NOK 42,00 | ~+5% | ~+10% | Specialist maritime; Nordic market |
| Planisware | France | Euronext | €0,4bn | SaaS/project mgmt | €19,00 | ~+8% | ~+5% | Project portfolio management SaaS |
| Generali Envision | Italy | Borsa Italiana | €0,5bn | Insurance tech | €6,50 | ~+2% | ~-5% | Generali subsidiary; modest performance |
| Springer Nature | Germany | Frankfurt/London | €1,0bn | Academic publishing | €20,00 | ~+5% | ~+15% | Scientific journals; Macmillan/Nature Group |
| CVC Capital Partners | Netherlands | Euronext Amsterdam | €1,5bn | Private equity | €14,00 | ~+3% | ~+25% | PE firm listing; AUM €191bn; quality business |
ⓘ All EUR de-DE (CHF de-CH for Galderma; NOK for Hydroniq). 6-month returns are approximate from listing date to approximately Q4 2024. Douglas's -20% 6-month reflects the market's concern about its €2bn+ net debt load from the 2022 PE-backed buyout — strong trading but debt overhang penalises equity. Renk Group (+35%) is the strongest European IPO performance in 2024 — pure-play European defence exposure at a time when NATO re-armament is a structural theme. CVC Capital Partners listing (+25%) is notable — a rare PE firm listing on European exchange providing retail access to private equity economics.
European IPO Market by Exchange — 2024
Dealogic + exchange statistics 2024
| Exchange | Country | 2024 IPO Volume | Deal Count | Avg Deal Size | Market Cap Post-IPO | Trend vs 2023 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euronext (Paris/Amsterdam/Brussels) | France/NL/BE | ~€9bn | ~25 deals | ~€360m | ~€50bn total | Strong recovery | Puig flagship; Paris growing as EU financial centre post-Brexit |
| Deutsche Börse (Xetra/Frankfurt) | Germany | ~€4bn | ~15 deals | ~€267m | ~€20bn total | Moderate recovery | Douglas, Renk, Springer; MDAX expansion target |
| London Stock Exchange | UK | ~€6bn | ~30 deals | ~€200m | ~€30bn total | Weak; declining trend | Small deal size vs volume; Arm chose Nasdaq; reform needed |
| SIX Swiss Exchange | Switzerland | ~€2,5bn | ~5 deals | ~€500m | ~€12bn total | Good | Galderma flagship; large average deal size; quality over quantity |
| Borsa Italiana (Euronext) | Italy | ~€2bn | ~10 deals | ~€200m | ~€10bn total | Modest | Milan gaining momentum; Euronext integration improving |
| Nasdaq Nordic (OMX) | Sweden/Denmark/Finland | ~€1,5bn | ~20 deals | ~€75m | ~€8bn total | Recovery from 2022-23 freeze | Stockholm dominant; smaller deal sizes; tech and life sciences |
| Oslo Bors | Norway | ~€1bn | ~15 deals | ~€67m | ~€5bn total | Steady | Oil, maritime, seafood; niche but consistent |
| Warsaw Stock Exchange | Poland | ~€0,5bn | ~10 deals | ~€50m | ~€2bn total | Growing | CEE's most active exchange; Mbank/PKO spinoffs; e-commerce |
ⓘ 2024 European total IPO proceeds: approximately €26bn (Dealogic estimate including all Euronext markets). London's weak performance versus Euronext Paris is structural: post-Brexit, EU institutional investors face restrictions on EU UCITS and AIFMD funds investing in non-EU (UK) listed securities — creating a regulatory preference for Euronext-listed companies for EU asset managers. Paris has benefited — several UK-origin companies have explored or completed secondary listings on Euronext (alongside LSE primary) to access EU investor capital pools.
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🔬 Methodology & Sources
IPO Performance Methodology
IPO (Initial Public Offering) = first sale of company shares to public investors. Listing methods: traditional book-build (most common); direct listing (no new shares; Spotify did this); SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company — rare in Europe vs US). First-day return = (closing price day 1 / IPO price - 1). 12-month return = (price 12 months after IPO / IPO price - 1). Lockup period: major shareholders typically locked from selling for 180 days post-IPO — expiry creates selling pressure. IPO yield (issue price dividend yield) = announced dividend / issue price.
Formula
IPO_first_day_return = (close_day1 / issue_price - 1) × 100 | Lockup_pressure = free_float_increase_at_lockup_expiry / avg_daily_volume | IPO_PE = issue_price / EPS
CitationEY Global IPO Trends; Dealogic IPO database; Bloomberg IPO performance; Jay Ritter IPO data (University of Florida).
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
European IPO market 2024: approximately €20-25bn raised across major European exchanges — a significant recovery from the near-dormant 2023 market but well below the 2021 peak of approximately €65bn. Average first-day return: approximately +8%. Notable deals: Puig (€2.6bn, Euronext, luxury/beauty — Charlotte Tilbury); Galderma (CHF 2.3bn, SIX, dermatology); CVC Capital Partners (€1.5bn, Euronext Amsterdam, PE firm); Renk Group (€0.7bn, Germany, defence — best performer at +35% in 6 months). The defence sector was the standout theme — Renk's NATO re-armament exposure drove exceptional post-IPO performance.
London has lost IPO market share to Euronext and US exchanges for structural reasons: (1) Brexit regulatory friction — EU UCITS and AIFMD-regulated funds have compliance complications investing in UK-listed (non-EU) securities; EU institutional investors prefer Euronext-listed alternatives; (2) Valuation gap — UK market assigns lower P/E multiples to technology companies versus US; (3) US market depth — Nasdaq/NYSE offer 10-20× London's daily trading volumes for major listings; (4) Index inclusion — US listing triggers S&P 500 inclusion (automatic buying by trillions of index funds). High-profile defections: Arm Holdings (Cambridge, UK) chose Nasdaq (2023); Ashtead Group (FTSE 100) announced US primary listing; Flutter Entertainment migrated primary to NYSE. UK response: FCA listings reform (simpler dual-class shares, lower free float requirements), but reforms have not yet reversed the trend.
This is a personal financial decision — Claude cannot make investment recommendations. What the historical data shows: retail investors typically cannot access the IPO price (reserved for institutional allocants in the book-build); retail investors who buy on the first day at elevated prices (after the typical 8% first-day pop) historically underperform on a 12-month basis — average European IPO 12-month return approximately -5% for those buying in the aftermarket. Exceptions exist (Renk Group +35%, Puig +20%, Galderma +15%) but are not reliably predictable. Research consistently shows (Jay Ritter, University of Florida) that IPOs underperform comparable public companies by approximately 3-4%/year over 3 years when measured from the aftermarket price. A disciplined approach: if available, access the IPO at issue price via broker allocation; be cautious buying at first-day elevated prices; fundamental analysis of company quality, sector, valuation, and debt load matters.
An IPO lockup period is typically a 180-day contractual restriction on major shareholders (founders, PE backers, pre-IPO institutional investors) from selling their shares after IPO. Purpose: prevents immediate insider selling that would depress the newly public stock. Lockup expiry effect: when the 180-day period expires, a large wave of potential sellers (who received shares at far lower pre-IPO prices) can access the market. This creates predictable selling pressure at the lockup expiry date — often causing stock price weakness. For Douglas's IPO: the PE sponsor (CVC/Advent International) retained approximately 70% of shares at lockup — their expiry selling was a significant overhang. This is one reason why average 12-month IPO performance is negative even when first-day returns are positive — the lockup expiry selling between days 180-270 depresses the 12-month average.
Traditional IPO (Book-Build): the company and its underwriting banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.) conduct a 'roadshow' presenting to institutional investors; investors indicate interest at various prices; banks set the final IPO price; new shares are issued (raising capital for the company and/or selling existing shares for insiders). Typical cost: 3-7% of deal value in underwriting fees. Direct Listing: no underwriting; no new shares issued (no capital raised); existing shareholders sell directly on exchange on day 1; no lockup enforced. Spotify (2018, NYSE) and Palantir/Asana (2020) pioneered this. Advantage: no underwriter discount; no lockup; more transparent price discovery. Disadvantage: no marketing support; price volatility on day 1; cannot raise new capital. SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies): rare in Europe but common in US 2020-2021; blank cheque company IPOs, then merges with private company — a back-door route to public markets. European regulators (FCA, AMF) are more restrictive on SPACs.
Sources & References
Data sourced from official institutional publications. Results are for informational purposes only. Last reviewed Jan 2026.
Data Disclaimer
IPO performance data is historical. Past IPO returns do not predict future IPO performance. IPO investing involves significant risk — many IPOs underperform the broader market over 12-36 months.
IPO performance data is historical. Past IPO returns do not predict future IPO performance. IPO investing involves significant risk — many IPOs underperform the broader market over 12-36 months.