An IPO is no Longer on the Cards: What Happens Next?
Pura Advisory Founding Partner, Gb Ladipo, plots the course through the last 5 years and sets out today’s options for founders who may have previously focused only on an IPO.
Setting the Scene: The Journey Over the Last 5 Years
The last 5 years has been a period of significant shifts in private markets. From the dizzy heights of 2020 / 2021, which saw astronomical valuations across the board in a world immediately post-Covid (as evidenced by the chart below)…
…To the dearth of investment in venture backed businesses in 2023…
…To a somewhat muted return to investment since then…
…To IPO markets remaining pretty much stagnant since 2022 (the two charts below show the number of IPOs, and funds raised by those IPOs for both the Main Market and AIM Market)…
…And the repeated mantra of…"next year will be the year when the market comes back"…
Founders have been through a lot. Just a few years ago, the mood music was “growth at all costs” and then seemingly in a blink of an eye, the advice was to push towards profitability. That’s an easy change to make on a spreadsheet, but changing mindsets within an organisation and re-orientating your business in a completely different direction, takes time, effort and skill.
So What Next?
Here we are in the second half of 2025. There are many Founders out there who have navigated their businesses through profound change but now realise that the initial northern star of becoming a unicorn and being taken public is not an option in the short term.
Well first of all, to all of you Founders, I’d like to say a heartfelt congratulations! Be proud of yourself for successfully steering your business through a period of economic turmoil that will have likely tested your business leadership skills more than you could have ever expected. Maybe you’re now at a stage of sustainable, profitable growth. Maybe you’re not quite profitable, but you will be there soon, what are you to do? Here are a few thoughts as you seek to navigate the next few years:
1 – Be on the front-foot
A wise man once said, the only constant in life is change. Markets have moved significantly over the last few years, and what was perceived wisdom a few years ago is now considered obsolete – as such, you need to be thinking years ahead. During the last few years, you may have hunkered down and been all hands-on-deck as you navigated the choppy economic waters, but now that you can come up for air, strategically you need to be thinking proactively about your next steps. How are you going to grow, what do you need to get you there and who is going to help you?
2 – Consider all of your options
If you’ve taken investment from venture capitalists, growth equity funds or angel investors, those investors will at some point need to realise a return. They’ve probably realised by now that they may not make 100x on their money with you, but they will continue to be focused on making some sort of return and so will (usually) be helpful in helping you to help them. If an IPO is no longer on the cards, then other exit options should be considered. These include, amongst others, secondary share sales, a sale to Trade or Private Equity, or raising alternative forms of finance via debt. Even with the challenging economic environment that we’ve seen, there continues to be a significant wall of capital, from a range of different types of investors seeking to deploy – understanding and navigating the various investor groups will help position your business for an exit appropriate to your circumstances. This, however, takes time, effort and specialist knowledge which is why you should…
3 – Get external, independent advice
At Pura Advisory, as independent corporate financiers, we work with many Founder-owned businesses to help them think about and work through their strategic options. Although your current Board can and should be lent on for advice, we can advise you without the financial / emotional conflict of being invested in your business, whilst having our finger on the pulse of the investment community.
Having completed over 100 successful transactions over a 20-year period, the Founding Partners of Pura Advisory will guide you through your options and help you to choose and embrace the most appropriate next steps. If you'd like to find out more, then please do get in touch.