British driving-services group RAC has pushed back its planned London IPO to the final months of 2026, prolonging the capital’s listing drought as volatile markets disrupt deal timelines. The flotation, targeting a roughly £5bn valuation, had been pencilled in for the first half of the year.
RAC — owned by CVC Capital Partners, Singapore’s GIC and Silver Lake Partners — counted more than 15.5 million members at end-2025 and posted £840mn of revenue and £329mn of adjusted earnings (+12% year on year). An army of nine banks and Lazard as adviser have been appointed; the group is now solely focused on a listing rather than a sale. Closest rival the AA is, by contrast, gearing up for a possible £5bn sale of its own and has drawn private-equity interest. Other London listings have also slipped: Nordic software group Visma is delaying its €19bn float after a sector sell-off, and Loveholidays — tipped as 2026’s first major London listing — has pushed back its debut.
Companies still pursuing London listings include Waterstones (owned by Elliott Management), which has just hired bankers, and possibly Airtel Africa’s mobile-money unit, after the Iran war disrupted its original Middle East plan. CK Hutchison’s AS Watson health-and-beauty business (including Superdrug) is also weighing London as a secondary venue alongside a Hong Kong primary. Source: Financial Times, 28 April 2026, Kieran Smith, Ashley Armstrong and Ivan Levingston.