Norwegian software group Visma has chosen London over Amsterdam for its upcoming initial public offering, marking a rare victory for the UK’s struggling equity markets as it fights to remain relevant for high-growth tech listings.
People familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times that London was ultimately selected because of the depth of its capital markets and a larger pool of investors focused on UK equities compared to those investing exclusively in Dutch stocks.
Read more: London closes gap on New York as top global financial centre.
The IPO, expected early next year, will test whether the UK government’s recent efforts to revive London’s capital markets are starting to bear fruit. The listing is contingent on implementing long-promised reforms, including measures that would allow companies listed in euros to be included in the FTSE indices, seen as critical for attracting European firms.
Visma, which provides accounting, payroll and HR software across the Nordic, Benelux and Baltic regions, is valued at around €19bn (£16.2bn/$22.21bn). It is majority-owned by UK-based private equity firm Hg, which first invested in the company in 2006 and helped take it private from the Oslo stock exchange at a roughly $450m valuation.
Hg and its co-investors currently hold approximately 70% of the company. The remainder is owned by minority shareholders, including Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and US private equity firm TPG.
The decision to list in London offers a glimmer of hope for the UK’s primary markets, which have seen a sharp decline in new IPO activity.
In 2023, 88 companies either delisted from the London Stock Exchange’s main market or shifted their primary listing elsewhere, mainly to New York. Just 18 new listings took their place. So far, in 2025, only three IPOs have launched in the UK’s primary market, raising less than £100m in total, according to LSE data.
Read more: Arm chooses New York for key technology listing in ‘kick in the teeth’ for London
At London Tech Week earlier this month, Bolt chief executive Markus Villig cast doubt on the capital’s appeal. “Let me look at the IPOs that have happened in the UK over the last five years,” he said. “How many of them are left?”
When British microchip company Arm decided to float in New York rather than London last year, experts called it a “kick in the teeth” for London.
“This is a blow to the UK government and the City of London post Brexit as Arm pins its hopes on New York, where some of the world’s biggest tech companies have floated including Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA),” Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said at the time.
