Shawbrook shares jump in biggest City IPO debut of the year
Shares in specialist lender Shawbrook soared in early trading after the firm made its IPO debut in the City.
The bank’s stock was up over six per cent in early trading to 393.43p.
Shawbrook kicked off its London Stock Exchange float targeting a valuation just shy of £2bn with a listing price of 370p.
“We are proud to be listing in London – our home market – a milestone that positions us well for the opportunities ahead,” boss Marcelino Castrillo said.
The lender had been eyeing £50m from the listing, alongside a sale of £348m of existing shares by Marlin Bidco Ltd – a company jointly owned by Shawbrook’s private equity overheads Pollen Street Capital and BC Partners LLP.
Marlin acquired Shawbrook for £825m in 2017.
The IPO was offered to qualified institutional buyers internationally and to retail investors resident in the United Kingdom through a partner network with Retailbook.
Shawbrook eyes loan book growth
The firm gave a snapshot of its quarter three performance earlier this month, revealing its loan book swelled to £18.3bn as of the end of September 2025, up from £17bn at the end of the second quarter.
This growth was fuelled by approximately £1.5bn in organic originations and the acquisition of the Thincats group.
The group’s customer deposits also increased significantly to £17.6bn, after a strong performance in its savings franchise.
Shawbrook has said its medium-term target is to achieve loan book growth in the low double digits per annum, with ambitions to near double the size of its total loan book to £30bn by 2030.
The bank’s listing marks the biggest boost for the City all year and follows a drastically under-performing first half where London IPO fundraising hit its lowest in 30 years.
But the final months of the year have brought hopes of a revival with Texas-based energy developer Fermi kicked off its dual-listing in the City and on Wall Street last month.
Cheshire-based Beauty Tech Group rose as much as 6.6 per cent in its debut at the beginning of the month, notching a market capitalisation of £320m.
But the government has faced warnings to not spook the market with a risky Budget that could derail the markets bounce back.
Julian Morse, co-chief executive of Cavendish, told City PM earlier this month: “The main driver [of the IPO market] is the economy, so if the government brings in policies which harm the economy, that is going to harm the IPO market.”
“They need to be very careful,” he added.