Does Airtel Money mark the end of London’s listing drought? Not yet | Nils Pratley

<p>The biggest flotation in five years was a bit of a shoo-in. Let’s see what happens when overseas competition is tougher</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/23/indian-billionaire-payments-firm-london-flotation-airtel-money">Indian billionaire’s payments firm plots biggest London flotation in years</a></p></li></ul><p></p><p>A win is a win, but we should probably contain our excitement about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/23/indian-billionaire-payments-firm-london-flotation-airtel-money">the biggest flotation in London for five years</a>. Airtel Money, a payments processor that operates in 13 African countries and should be worth between £6bn and £7bn, is a welcome addition to the stock market but it would be a stretch to say the event marks a definitive change in the weather to end the listings drought.</p><p>Why? Because, in a sense, Airtel Money is already here. It is a 78%-owned subsidiary of Airtel Africa, an established FTSE 100 firm with a market value of £11.3bn ultimately controlled by Bharti Enterprises under the Indian billionaire <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/aug/12/sunil-bharti-mittal-india-telecoms-bt">Sunil Bharti Mittal</a>, also known for his 25% stake in BT.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/nils-pratley-on-finance/2026/sep/23/airtel-money-london-stock-exchange-listing-drought">Continue reading...</a>