African mobile payments business Airtel Money has made a steady start to trading as it kicked off its £5.3 billion stock market debut in what marks the biggest London listing for five years.
The group saw shares rise as much as £2 each from an initial price set at £1.96 in conditional trading, before the stock later eased back close to its opening mark on Friday morning.
Its initial public offering (IPO) is the biggest on the London market since the flotation of fintech Wise in 2021 and has given the embattled London Stock Exchange a shot in the arm amid a recent dearth in new listings.
Airtel Money has been spun off from separately listed FTSE 100 firm Airtel Africa, a leading telecoms provider which is part of Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises.
The firm is thought to be the first large African fintech to list on a global stock exchange.
Airtel founder Sunil Bharti Mittal, who is also the founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said the IPO was a “vote of confidence in the UK as an attractive global destination for investment”.
He said the UK offers a “stable business and policy environment attractive for long-term investors”.
The IPO adds to Bharti’s long-term investments in the UK, including the strategic stake in BT announced in 2024, shareholding in Eutelsat (previously OneWeb) alongside the UK Government and Scottish resort Gleneagles, according to the group.
Conditional dealing of Airtel Money shares began at 8am on Friday, with only investors allocated shares in the offering able to participate, ahead of unconditional share dealing when the market opens on October 14.
Airtel Money chief executive Ian Ferrao said: “Today is a landmark moment for Airtel Money.
“Our listing in London marks an important new chapter for our business and reflects what we have built across Africa and the significant opportunity ahead.”
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