Mishcon de Reya has pressed pause on its plans to list on the London Stock Exchange “for the foreseeable future”, as the IPO market shows no signs of picking up.
In a statement on Wednesday, a firm spokesperson said: ”We can confirm that we have decided to put our IPO plans on hold for the foreseeable future due to market conditions. We remain an ambitious and bold business with a clear strategy and vision for our future.”
The firm’s people have been informed that IPO plans are “not off the agenda permanently but will not go ahead imminently”, according to one person with knowledge of the situation.
In January, the firm had temporarily shelved plans to move ahead with the IPO but intended to revisit the issue later in the year. The person said this was initially supposed to be “for a few weeks” only, and the firm later appointed five directors to serve on its group board in February, in preparation for the IPO.
According to a second person at the firm, the plans have been placed “on hold” owing to the volatile market.
“IPOs are down 90% from a year ago and nobody is investing,” they added.
The firm’s partnership voted through the plans in September 2021.
The firm first began to seriously explore the possibility of an IPO in April 2021, when the partnership voted to consider the proposals of a premium listing. Under the terms of an IPO, every member of staff at Mishcon would become a shareholder in the listed business.
The latest update in its IPO saga follows various regulatory actions against the firm, including a £25,000 fine for misconduct relating to alleged client account failures.
Several lawyers have also left the firm since its IPO plans were voted through, including 18 to Greenberg Traurig.
The news was first reported by The Telegraph.
