Navigating Go / No-Go: Five Ways to Prepare to IPO

Companies planning on floating in H2 2025 / H1 2026 must focus on rigorous preparation, strategic positioning, and effective stakeholder engagement to succeed in what is likely to be a dynamic market.

Tariff-induced volatility in the market might be dampening confidence in capital markets in the near term, but that doesn’t mean that companies considering an IPO should halt their preparations. For management teams eyeing an IPO over the next 6 to 12 months, there are five key areas to focus on so that, as and when the IPO window opens, they are primed and ready to execute on their float plans.

Adopt an ‘As If Listed’ Approach Early

Companies that showcase transparency, robust governance, clear growth drivers, and long-term value creation stand a better chance of attracting quality investors, so companies need to begin operating as if they are already listed well before the IPO transaction.

Ensuring financial statements are reliable, compliant, and demonstrate stability while strengthening internal audit processes, risk management systems, and interim controls will increase transparency and provide stakeholders with an additional level of comfort.

Develop a Compelling Investment Proposition

Crafting a clear and compelling equity story, highlighting your growth drivers, long-term value creation potential, and key points of differentiation versus your listed peers will ensure that you are flexible and well-placed to move quickly should market volatility ameliorate and a window for new issues open up.

Your investment proposition will impact every element of your IPO, so if you don’t have a clear idea of what you want to articulate about your equity story, it will slow down other areas of your IPO planning.

Build a Reliable IPO Leadership Team

Ensure your IPO team has a strong leader, often the CFO, who can manage the process and liaise with advisors and other stakeholders, using robust project management to track progress, identify issues, and maintain organization throughout the IPO process.

It is also worth considering whether your business has sufficient operational coverage on a day-to-day basis. 

With the CEO, CFO, and other senior leaders focusing on IPO workstreams, it is easy for “business as usual” activities to sometimes get overlooked, a recipe for disaster for maintaining financial performance, and a potential accident waiting to happen should the IPO succeed.  An early profit warning post-float can often take years for a newly floated company to recover.

Strengthen Governance 

Adapt your governance structures to meet listing requirements and market expectations. This includes forming key board committees, hiring independent directors, and ensuring the board focuses on strategic issues rather than compliance distractions.

Assemble a leadership team demonstrating expertise, vision, and strategic decision-making capabilities. Investors value management teams that confidently navigate the IPO process and deliver on growth promises.

Invest in your corporate profile

A strong corporate reputation is essential for building trust with potential investors and stakeholders. This can be achieved through increased media relations activities, a heightened presence on social media, and a more professionalised corporate website.

By actively managing and enhancing their corporate reputations, companies can create a positive image that resonates with investors. This leads to increased confidence and, ultimately, great interest in any eventual IPO.

When any window does eventually open, it is likely to be highly competitive, so latent awareness amongst investors, resulting from heightened corporate communications activity in advance of any float, will reap its own rewards further down the line.