30 Apr 2018

Private equity IPOs outperform the market

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Private equity-backed IPOs are trading on average 43.9% above their offer price compared to 26.6% for non-private equity flotations, reveals new research published by the BVCA in association with PwC.

The report provides a historic analysis of private equity-backed IPOs in the UK between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2017 and compares them with businesses that floated in the same period that were not backed by private equity.

It shows that the UK IPO market has been dominated by private equity since the financial crisis, reaching a peak in 2015 when private equity-backed debuts represented almost 70% of the number of companies listing and almost 90% of the value.

Key findings include:

  • One year after listing, private equity-backed flotations record an average performance of 22.6% up on their offer price, compared to 20.3% of non-private equity IPOs
  • The average time between the date of investment and the IPO, i.e. the hold period, is 5.2 years
  • The average performance relative to FTSE All Share indices between 2009 and 2017 is 24% for private equity IPOs and minus 1.5% for non-private equity flotations
  • In 2017, 15% of private equity-backed IPOs had been invested 10 years or more after the initial investment, the highest proportion in the research
  • The top 10 UK private equity IPOs raised 37% of all private equity proceeds between 2009 and 2017
  • Consumer services has produced the largest number of IPOs and the highest proceeds of any sector, with 33 companies raising £10.8 billion; financials come second with 21 listings raising £5.9 billion.

The full report can be found here.

Noelle Buckley, Director of Research at the BVCA, said: “What this research shows is the positive impact private equity has on the UK public markets and, most importantly, demonstrates how well private equity-backed businesses have performed after they have floated. The aim of investors is to improve the business over the lifetime of the investment so that by the time it comes to sell the equity stake, the company is in better shape than it was. This report provides ample evidence to support this.”

Mark Hughes, Partner, UK Capital Markets Leader, PwC, said: “In the last two years we have seen private equity IPOs reduce as a proportion of the overall IPO activity as the private sale route has won out over the public markets. Notwithstanding that, private equity remains a key driver of the London IPO market and investors remain attracted to the quality of private equity backed issuers.”


For further information, please contact

Tom Allchorne, Director, Communications, BVCA
[email protected]

Press office, PwC
020 7213 1768


Notes to editor

  1. The research includes IPOs that occurred on AIM and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2017. It excludes IPOs raising less than £30 million in proceeds and greenshoe, as well as a number of different types of issuers. Full details can be found in the methodology in the report.

  2. The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA) is the industry body for the UK private equity and venture capital industry. The BVCA has over 700 member firms, representing the vast majority of UK-based private equity and venture capital firms and their advisers.

  3. About PwC: At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 158 countries with more than 236,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. © 2018 PwC. All rights reserved.


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