Audio technology group Waves hello to £300m London float

An audio technology business used by many of the world's leading musicians is plotting a £300m City flotation in a boost to London's flagging stock market.

Sky News has learnt that Waves Audio, which is headquartered in Israel, has hired bankers to oversee an initial public offering which could take place as soon as June. The company, which is majority-owned by founders Meir Sha'ashua and Gilad Keren, is expected to raise millions of pounds from the sale of new shares, although the details have yet to be finalised.

Money latest: Octopus Energy responds after being forced to ditch advert Panmure Liberum has been appointed to work on the float. Waves Audio makes professional digital audio signal processing technology and audio effects used in recordings, mixing, mastering, post-production, broadcasting and live sound.

It employs more than 200 people, and has a major international presence, including in Europe and the US. A board is said to be being assembled to support Waves Audio's transition to being a public company.

A successful float on London's main market would be a relative rarity given the depressed level of IPO activity in recent months. Data compiled by EY, the professional services firm, showed that there were just five new listings on the London market in the first quarter of the year.

Scott McCubbin, EY UKI IPO leader, said this month: "The IPO market thrives on stability, but ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical instability continues to subdue listing activity in the UK. Following the announcement of US trade tariffs, we've seen market volatility grow to levels not seen since the COVID pandemic.

"Companies considering an IPO must now weigh the risks of listing in such turbulent conditions, alongside rising input costs. "The ambiguity surrounding global trade policy is also likely to dampen investor appetite and could lead to delayed listings or reduced valuations in the year ahead." Pessimism about the outlook for flotations has been compounded by a steady trickle of companies cancelling their London listings or shifting them overseas.

The UK market's biggest hope continues to be that Shein, the Chinese-founded online fashion retailer, will defy the impact of President Trump's tariffs and list in London in the coming months. A spokesman for Waves Audio declined to comment..