A bitter aftertaste? Deliveroo IPO flop could deter growth stocks from listing in London

Why ESG issues matter a lot to investors

The heavily touted initial public offering (IPO) of food delivery firm Deliveroo and its subsequent flop has highlighted the risks of overlooking the 'S' in ESG when making investment decisions, according to several investment professionals, who warned the listing could deter growth stocks from listing in London.

The UK's IPO market had a very buoyant second half of the year in 2020 as investor sentiment recovered from historic lows, with 13 companies floating onto the AIM market compared to ten IPOs that launched over the same time frame in 2019. The AIM All-Share index also significantly outperformed the FTSE 100 over 2020, returning 21.8% compared to its flailing blue-chip counterpart's loss of 11.6%. Deliveroo IPO falls nearly a third as investors succumb to 'anxiety' The picture seems more muted this year, however, with the FTSE 100 outperforming the AIM All Share by 1.3 percentage poi...