Financial Conduct Authority plans to ‘put public back in IPO’
After a torrid few years for the London Stock Exchange, the Financial Conduct Authority is opening new avenues to boost initial public offerings (IPOs).
The City regulator told industry stakeholders at the London Stock Exchange’s annual IPO Forum last week, it would “put the P back into IPO,” sources attending the event told CityAM.
The private event hosts would-be public companies to provide assistance on achieving an IPO.
The watchdog told attendees inclusion of retail investors was at the heart of their mission to deliver a “whole system approach” to public listing.
The proposed changes come amid mounting pressure from City firms to widen access to equity and bond markets for retail investors.
Jim Moran, the FCA’s head of listing, told CityAM: “Our changes to prospectus rules will make it easier for companies to raise money on public markets and grow.
“We’re proposing to get rid of the ‘six day rule’, which added extra time to an IPO if it were offered to the public, to remove barriers for firms and open up participation in IPOs.”
London Stock Exchange suffered a bruising 2024
The regulator’s overhaul on the listing framework follows a brutal few years for the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
LSEG data shows 88 companies – including tech darling Darktrace and Paddy Power owner Flutter – either delisted or transferred their primary listing away from London’s main market in 2024, with only 18 firms joining.
In April 2025, takeovers outnumbered listings three to one after 15 firms made takeover bids and only four floated.
Dame Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group, lobbied for the UK to change its “perverse” attitudes towards retail investment during an appearance on the Following the Rules podcast in February.
Hoggett argued it should be “much more straightforward” for retail investors to participate in these markets, which would help lower the cost of capital for business and growth.
This comes as investment platform Retailbook, which helps retail investors access shares typically reserved for institutional investors, said on Monday it had secured a £4.5m fundraise led by Augmentum Fintech.
James Deal, co chief-executive of Retailbook, told CityAM: “The summer of 2025 will be seen as a pivotal time of fruition for UK Capital markets.”
Deal said: “A large part of these reforms will enable retail and wealth investors true access to UK public markets, for the first time in decades.
“At Retailbook we are driving and delivering on that agenda, leading the way to reignite retail capital into our primary markets.”