The International Stock Exchange has been reviewing new issue procedures in the United Kingdom under a committee chaired by Graham Ross Russell. That committee's report, which has now been published as a consultative document, recommends some changes to the procedures for making initial public offers (IPOs). This article describes the current arrangements in the United Kingdom, the pressures for change and the proposed new procedures. It also presents some research into the pricing of initial public offers over the past five years. The article extends an earlier study which was published in the Bulletin just after Big Bang.
New equity issues in the United Kingdom