Third float pulled as fever dies out

Floats fever in the City has fizzled out as another property firm abandoned its planned listing today.

Residential developer Urban Exposure today pulled out of its £500 million London float, citing the “prevailing IPO backdrop”, the third property firm to withdraw in as many months.

Urban Exposure said it was still encouraged by “prospective investors” and it is having discussions with a number of parties who may provide private funding.

Student digs specialist Brandeaux decided to scrap proposals for the £400 million listing of its fund Liberty Living on London’s main market less than a month after announcing it. Last week Clipstone Logistics postponed its planned float.

It had hoped to start trading tomorrow but has delayed in the hope demand will return after the summer. Demand was said to have dried up during the quiet summer but it is not just property firms that have ditched fundraising.

In May retailer Fat Face blamed “current equity market conditions” when it was unable to attract enough demand to list and in June Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air blamed the “current market volatility in the airline sector” for its flop.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at derivatives dealer CMC Markets, said: “Investors are now quite rightly becoming much more discerning” after previous IPOs dropped below their listing price.