Will Wise’s triumphant LSE debut herald a new era of direct listings in London?
https://techmonitor.ai/technology/wise-direct-listing-london-stock-exchange-ipo
Fintech unicorn Wise had an uber-successful inauguration on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) this week, going public at a value of £8bn ($12m). The UK-based company, formerly known as TransferWise, became the largest tech listing in LSE’s history by market capitalisation and is the first tech business in the UK to use direct listing instead of an initial public offering (IPO) to go public.
The news has been hailed as a welcome boost for London’s credentials as a destination for tech innovation and investment, particularly in the wake of Deliveroo’s IPO fiasco in March, and experts told Tech Monitor that the success of Wise, which facilitates money transfers for its clients, can have a positive impact on the UK tech scene as a whole and other scale-up businesses looking to follow in its footsteps. But the direct listing route taken by Wise may not be suitable for all tech companies aiming to go public.