Does Airtel Money mark the end of London’s listing drought? Not yet | Nils Pratley
Airtel Money is set to complete the largest London stock market flotation in five years, with a valuation estimated between £6bn and £7bn. However, analysts argue this does not definitively end the city's listing drought because the company is a 78%-owned subsidiary of the already-listed Airtel Africa. The real test for London's competitiveness will be winning high-profile overseas listings, such as the pending IPO of Norway's Visma.
- ▪Airtel Money is a payments processor operating in 13 African countries with 53 million monthly active users.
- ▪The listing is considered a home fixture for London because the parent company, Airtel Africa, is already an FTSE 100 firm.
- ▪No new equity is being raised in the flotation, meaning it serves as an exit opportunity for existing minority shareholders like TPG and Mastercard.
- ▪The company is growing at approximately 20% annually and is described as capital-lite with strong cash conversion rates.
- ▪London's ability to end its listing drought will be better determined by securing major overseas competitors like Norway's Visma, which is also considering Stockholm and Amsterdam.
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| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2026/sep/23/airtel-money-london-stock-exchange-listing-drought |
| Publication time | Wed, 23 Sep 2026 16:25:57 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-23T16:44:30.580Z |
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Airtel Money is a 78%-owned subsidiary of Airtel Africa, an established FTSE 100 firm. Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/ReutersView image in fullscreenAirtel Money is a 78%-owned subsidiary of Airtel Africa, an established FTSE 100 firm. Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/ReutersNils Pratley on financeLondon Stock ExchangeDoes Airtel Money mark the end of London’s listing drought? Not yetNils PratleyThe biggest flotation in five years was a bit of a shoo-in. Let’s see what happens when overseas competition is tougher Indian billionaire’s payments firm plots biggest London flotation in years Wed 23 Sep 2026 12.25 EDTLast modified on Wed 23 Sep 2026 12.37 EDTShareA win is a win, but we should probably contain our excitement about the biggest flotation in London for five years.
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