LONDON (Reuters) – British biotech share listings last year generated their worst annual haul since 2012, an industry report published on Thursday found, mirroring a global downturn in initial public offerings (IPOs) across the sector.
Only 28 million pounds ($34.7 million) – all in the first half of the year – was raised in IPOs by British biotech companies, the report from the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) and insights company Clarivate showed.
By way of comparison, total funds raised from UK IPOs amounted to roughly £1.3 billion in 2021, £244 million in 2020, £64 million in 2019 and £432 million in 2018.
Funds raised by the sector from IPOs in the United States were similarly paltry last year, raising 1.4 billion pounds – 14% of the amount raised in 2021, the report said.
The BIA report covers the period from Dec. 1, 2021, to Nov. 30 last year.
Overall, UK-headquartered public and private companies raised roughly £1.8 billion last year, less than half the record £4.5 billion raised in 2021, the report also found.
($1 = 0.8066 pounds)
(Reporting by Natalie Grover in London; Editing by David Goodman)