Secondary offering sales of company shares have reached £14.7 billion in 135 transactions in the UK for the year to date, according to new analysis from Deloitte. 

That’s up about 50% from £9.8 billion at the same stage of last year.

A secondary offering refers to the sale of shares in a listed company occurring after a company’s IPO, with the transaction taking place through either London’s main market or AIM. 

Gavin Hood, partner at Deloitte who leads the corporate finance advisory team in Scotland, said: “The UK market has very much been open for existing listed companies seeking additional equity capital, including those from the retail and hospitality sectors. 

“Typically this has been to strengthen balance sheets and improve liquidity in the wake of the pandemic. 

“I would expect fundraising activity to continue into the rest of the year, albeit with only a modest trickle of IPOs.”