A prolonged slowdown in UK initial public offerings is restricting exit options for private equity and venture capital investors, increasing their reliance on sales to other financial sponsors and strategic buyers, according to a report by Bloomberg citing data from PitchBook.
IPOs have traditionally represented one of the three main routes for private equity firms to realise investments, alongside corporate acquisitions and sponsor-to-sponsor transactions. But London’s weak listing market is making public-market exits increasingly difficult.
Only seven UK PE-backed companies have completed IPOs over the past five years, with just two pricing offerings in 2026, PitchBook said in its latest report. The London Stock Exchange has also recorded more delistings than new listings in every year since 2022.
Despite the lack of IPO activity, UK private equity exit value is on track for one of its strongest years on record. However, the headline figure masks a high degree of concentration, with a relatively small number of large transactions accounting for a significant proportion of total proceeds.
Nine mega-deals represented approximately 58% of UK private equity exit value in the first half of 2026, according to PitchBook.
With IPO markets largely unavailable, private equity firms are increasingly turning to other buyout groups and corporate acquirers to generate liquidity.
Take-private transactions are also becoming a more prominent feature of the UK market as subdued public equity valuations make listed companies more attractive targets for financial sponsors.
Take-privates accounted for around 20% of realised UK private equity deal value during the first half of 2026.
Recent transactions include KKR and Energy Capital Partners’ agreement to acquire DCC Energy for more than £5.7bn, while Apollo Global Management agreed this week to acquire budget airline easyJet in a transaction also valued at approximately £5.7bn.
The trend highlights a broader disconnect between private equity valuations and the UK public markets, with sponsors increasingly able to identify listed businesses whose market valuations offer an attractive entry point for take-private strategies.
The IPO drought is also creating challenges for venture capital investors, which depend on successful exits to return capital to their limited partners.
PitchBook’s venture capital exit predictor identified 87 UK companies with a high probability of reaching an IPO as of the first half of 2026, including 27 businesses operating in artificial intelligence.
However, many are remaining private for longer or considering strategic acquisitions instead of public listings.
The proportion of UK companies choosing to list domestically has also fallen sharply. Just 46% of UK companies that went public in 2025 listed at home, compared with 71% in 2019, PitchBook data show.
Potential London IPO candidates such as Waterstones and SumUp are among companies reported to be considering delaying listings until 2027.
Government efforts to revive London’s IPO market, including a three-year stamp duty exemption for newly listed companies introduced in 2025, have so far failed to materially change the outlook.
Venture fundraising did show some improvement during the first half of 2026 after hitting record lows in 2025. However, PitchBook said activity remained concentrated in a small number of very large funding rounds, raising questions about the health of the wider venture ecosystem.
