Mad dash for IPO window

As political parties gear up to fight one of the most uncertain General Elections in decades, a small window of opportunity has cropped up for those companies looking to debut on the stockmarket. Trainline is first out of the station, but there is likely to be a mad scramble to get listed well before voters start heading to the polls in May.

This window could stay open for a couple of months if markets stabilise, but if volatility continues it could be firmly shut, locked, curtains drawn and lights off very quickly. And once the moment has passed, it is likely to be a while until companies feel confident enough in the political environment to risk going to market again.

In what was pegged to be a record year for IPOs, European floats raised €48.8 billion in the 11 months to November, 80% more than the same period in 2013 and the highest level since 2007, says PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

In 2014, the London market reached a seven-year high with £16.9 billion raised through 138 IPOs, according to data from the London Stock Exchange, with £14.1 billion raised on the main market and £2.8 billion on AIM. The largest IPO was UK roadside assistance provider and auto insurer AA (AA), raising £1.4 billion. Circassia Pharmaceuticals was the largest global biotech IPO, raising £211 million.

Clearly, ecommerce companies saw an opportunity to cash in last year, with AO World, boohoo.com, Just Eat, MySale Group (MYSL) and Koovs (KOOV) raising £1.3 billion. London's seven-year high came despite the market cooling in the second half with an increasing number of plans either pulled or postponed. Firms were clearly spooked by the poor performance of newly listed companies like over-50s insurer and holiday provider Saga. But some still braved it, with Virgin Money (VM.) raising £312 million in November.

Trainline announced its plans to raise £75 million this week in an IPO that should give the ticket-seller a market valuation of around £500 million. Set up 15 years ago as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Trains, Trainline was sold in 2006 to private equity house Exponent for £163 million.

The surge in the ownership of mobile phones and use of apps has helped the firm, which aims to provide discounted fares to customers who book in advance through its website, app (over 7.4 million trainline apps have been downloaded so far) and over the phone.

Run by former eBay executive Clare Gilmartin since June and chaired by another one-time eBay star Doug McCallum, Trainline already has contracts with most of the UK train operating companies (TOCs) and last year launched thetrainline europe. In February, the company struck a deal with German giant Deutsche Bahn to sell German and connecting rail travel products.

Exponent also reckons another of its businesses HSS Hire should hit the market soon, too. The tool hire company was bought in 2012 and offers next day delivery of equipment.

With the price of oil now hugging $50 a barrel and geopolitical pressures causing concerns, markets are under pressure, especially as the General Election draws near - politicians are already canvassing hard. So watch for the rush of IPOs over the next two months. Those who miss the window will be forced to wait until after the summer. Whatever the election result, this year will struggle to beat 2014.

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.