Shares in Shawbrook Group rose sharply on debut after the bank returned to public markets in the biggest London listing by a UK-based company in two years.
The specialist lender priced its shares at £3.70, giving the business a £1.92 billion market capitalisation. The stock opened higher and climbed as much as 7.8 per cent to £3.99 in early trading, before stabilising near £3.92 by mid-morning, according to data from Reuters.
The offering included around £50 million of new shares, while existing owners — private-equity groups BC Partners and Pollen Street Capital — sold about £298 million of stock. The float marks Shawbrook’s return to the London Stock Exchange eight years after it was taken private by the same investors in 2017.
Chief executive Marcelino Castrillo said the support from investors across the UK, Europe, and the US reflected the strength of Shawbrook’s proposition and the business it has built.
Founded in 2011, Shawbrook provides lending and savings products to small- and medium-sized enterprises, as well as specialist property and consumer markets. The company reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £168 million for the first half of 2025, up from £124.5 million a year earlier. It has completed 24 acquisitions since launch, including the recent purchase of ThinCats, which added roughly £700 million to its loan book.
The float comes amid a difficult period for UK equity markets. London accounted for just 2 per cent of European IPO volumes so far this year, as domestic listings lag behind rival exchanges in New York, Amsterdam, and Paris. Policymakers have been exploring ways to attract new issuers, including a potential stamp-duty exemption for newly listed shares, reported by The Guardian.
For the UK market, the success of the Shawbrook offering may provide a much-needed vote of confidence. For its backers, the listing crystallises a partial exit while leaving scope for further growth as the lender pursues new acquisitions and seeks to expand its balance sheet.
