- Airtel Money becomes one of the most popular UK IPOs ever among retail investors on AJ Bell platform
- £5.3 billion fintech flotation ranks among the UK’s biggest listings of the past 30 years
- Strong retail demand suggests investors remain eager to back compelling new companies coming to the London market
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, comments:
“Strong demand for the stock market flotation of Airtel Money shows that investors are keen to back new listings if the investment case is compelling.
“Airtel Money is the ninth most popular UK IPO on AJ Bell’s DIY investor platform ever, based on the number of customers applying to take part in the IPO offer.
“Airtel Money’s majority shareholder Airtel Africa has made investors big money since its stock market debut in 2019, with a 262% gain in value to £11.2 billion and a place in the prestigious FTSE 100. Many people will be hoping for a repeat of this success with the new IPO.
“Airtel Money is tapping into a massive opportunity to provide core banking services to people in Africa via their phones. This includes digital wallets, the ability to pay for goods online, and money transfer services. It has an expanding presence in both consumer and business-related financial services such as loans, savings, insurance and investments.
“The long line of retail investors who applied to buy shares in the offer sends a positive signal that the UK stock market is not slowly fading away. If anything, Airtel Money’s IPO suggests the UK could now be waking up from its slumber.
Airtel Money the fifth biggest UK IPO of past 30 years
“Airtel Money is the fifth biggest company by market value to float on the London Stock Exchange, excluding those on the International Main Market. Its £5.3 billion valuation is big enough to grab a place in the FTSE 100 index.
“Unlike many companies coming to market in the UK or US, Airtel Money is profitable. It made $1.35 billion revenue and $676 million adjusted earnings in the year to June 2026. It has 53 million monthly active users and is seeing solid growth. The fact the company is going to pay dividends is the icing on top of the cake for many investors.
Why Airtel Money’s IPO is a significant event
“The high-profile nature of Airtel Money’s IPO has the potential to encourage more companies to list on the UK stock market and tap into a broad pool of capital. Chief executives sitting on the fence about whether to choose London as a listing destination might be watching Airtel Money’s success with great interest and noting the decent show of support from retail investors.
“Airtel Africa’s success will have certainly played a part in Airtel Money also selecting to list in the UK, but so too will the market’s reputation of having a broad range of investors willing to consider companies from any sector and not only being interested in AI-related technology.
“The UK stock market might have suffered from low tech representation, yet its more diversified interests have shone in recent times when investors have started to question if there is a new tech bubble, and whether it’s about to burst.
Who could be next to join the UK stock market?
“Investors might be disappointed at the news that retailer Boots is not coming to the UK stock market as rumoured, given it has just been acquired by the Weston family. However, its direct rival Superdrug could make an appearance later this year or next, with parent company AS Watson thought to be considering a dual London and Hong Kong listing.
“Book retailer Waterstones is a well-known name on the high street and a revival in physical book demand puts it in a good position to capture investor interest should rumours prove correct about a possible London IPO.
“Spanish miner Abenojar Tungsten is preparing to join the UK stock market by the year-end, offering exposure to one of the largest and highest-grade undeveloped tungsten projects globally. It hopes to start production in 2029.”