The “fundamentals” for an initial public offering (IPO) in Ireland “remain solid”, and many companies are “well positioned” to float in the future despite a drought in stock market listings, according to a new report from EY.
The Irish market has not seen a company go public since 2021.
The average daily value of trading in Irish equities on the Irish market has slid from €254 million to €179 million since 2023 as CRH, Flutter Entertainment and Smurfit Kappa – now Smurfit Westrock – dropped their Irish quotations and moved their main listings to New York.
Global IPO activity rebounded strongly in the third quarter of 2025, according to the latest EY global trends report on the sector.
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While there were no IPOs in Ireland over the period, the report said recent policy developments here signal “a growing recognition of the need to strengthen the domestic capital markets ecosystem”.
“The fundamentals remain solid, and we expect mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity to pick up as global conditions continue to stabilise,” said EY Ireland corporate finance partner Fergal McAleavey.
“With strengths in fintech, medtech and AI, there are many Irish companies positioned well to participate in future IPO waves.”
Euronext Dublin and other parties from the capital markets ecosystem have been lobbying successive governments in recent years for help to reboot the domestic equities market, where the number of listed companies has slumped by 60 per cent over the past two decades.
Of the remaining 25 listed companies, Dalata Hotel Group is set to be taken over next month by a Scandinavian consortium, while Malin Corporation and Donegal Investment Group are essentially in wind-down.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced in his budget speech last week that stamp duty on share trading in public companies worth up to €1 billion would be scrapped.
“The measure aims to improve competitiveness and reduce barriers to investment in smaller listed companies,” said the EY report.
However, a rate of 1 per cent will continue for larger companies, including nine companies currently worth more €1 billion on the Iseq All-Share index. Some of the larger names are viewed by industry observers to be the most inclined make the move to Wall Street.
Europe has recorded 72 IPOs so far this year, raising $9.3 billion (€8 billion), which represents a 36 per cent decline in proceeds year-on-year. However, the third quarter saw a six-fold increase in proceeds compared to the second.
Property, hospitality and construction led the way in terms of deal count across European IPOs, while technology continued to dominate in terms of capital raised.
A total of 370 IPOs raised $48.2 billion globally, marking a significant rebound in investor confidence with major indices across Europe, the US and Asia reaching strong highs after months of pressure from tariffs, interest rate uncertainty and debt concerns.
India’s IPO pipeline is now the most active globally, with 254 listings in the first nine months of 2025, the highest of any market, with October alone expected to deliver over $5 billion in listings, including Tata Capital and LG Electronics India.
