In a week marked by both setbacks and bold investments for the United Kingdom’s financial and energy sectors, two major stories have captured the attention of analysts and industry insiders alike. On August 26, 2025, Bitpanda, the Vienna-based fintech powerhouse backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, announced it would abandon plans for a public listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), citing the exchange’s dwindling liquidity as the main culprit. Just a day later, the UK Sovereign Wealth Fund, along with Australia’s Aware Super and global investor Equitix, revealed a landmark £500 million investment in battery storage company Eelpower Energy, signaling a strategic bet on the nation’s energy future.
Bitpanda’s decision to sidestep London is more than just a corporate maneuver—it’s a symptom of deeper challenges facing the UK’s capital markets. According to the Financial Times, Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth was candid about the rationale: “Many companies are leaving London,” he said, referencing the recent move by British fintech Wise, which shifted its primary listing to New York after a shareholder vote. The motivation? Access to larger capital pools and greater market liquidity—two things London seems to be struggling to offer.
Demuth didn’t mince words about the state of the LSE, highlighting that “the London Stock Exchange continues to struggle to attract sufficient trading volumes and institutional investors.” Instead of London, Bitpanda will now target Frankfurt or New York for its future initial public offering (IPO), though Demuth made clear that no precise timeline has been set as of late August 2025. This means London is officially out of the running, at least for Bitpanda and, increasingly, for others in the fast-moving fintech sector.
The numbers paint a stark picture. The UK IPO market has collapsed to its lowest point in three decades. In the first half of 2025, a mere £160–182.8 million (about $216–247.8 million) was raised, a dramatic fall from the £8.8 billion ($11.88 billion) peak seen in 2021. The Financial Times also notes that the LSE now earns the bulk of its income from data services rather than actual listings—a telling sign of its shifting priorities and perhaps its waning relevance as a global financial hub.
Industry voices have been sounding the alarm for months. Carrie Osman, CEO of the consultancy Cruxy, has pointed to liquidity issues as the main driver behind the delisting trend. In a recent episode of GlobalData’s Instant Insights podcast, Osman explained, “I was looking at some data and it’s interesting to note that, for example, in the UK about 23% of adults own shares, while in the US the percentage reaches 62%.” She also highlighted a cultural gap: UK investors are less inclined to put money into the stock market compared to their US counterparts, where 401(k) pension plans incentivize equity investments.
This lack of retail and institutional participation has created a feedback loop. As fewer companies choose London for their listings, trading volumes fall further, making the market even less attractive. The exit of firms like Wise and the acquisition of British semiconductor company Alphawave Semi by Qualcomm—another heavy blow to the LSE—only compound the problem.
Bitpanda’s move is emblematic of a broader trend. Companies, especially those in high-growth, tech-driven sectors, are increasingly gravitating toward markets with more liquidity, clearer regulations, and deeper pools of investors. The United States and continental Europe, particularly Frankfurt, are emerging as preferred destinations. The US, in particular, has become a magnet for crypto-native firms. In early 2025, Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, raised $1.05 billion on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at an $8 billion valuation. Other major players like Gemini, BitGo, and Bullish (another Thiel-backed exchange) have all chosen US exchanges for their listings this year.
While London continues to tout itself as a global fintech hub, the numbers and the headlines tell a different story. The City’s IPO market is suffering from low trading volumes and a lack of investor appetite, raising questions about its long-term competitiveness for fast-growing tech firms. As Bitpanda’s Demuth put it, “Many companies are leaving London,” and for now, it seems the exodus is only accelerating.
Yet, even as London’s financial sector faces these challenges, the UK’s energy sector is seeing a surge of optimism and capital. On August 27, 2025, it was reported that the UK Sovereign Wealth Fund, together with Aware Super from Australia and global investor Equitix, committed a total of £500 million (about €590 million) to Eelpower Energy, a British company specializing in battery energy storage systems. According to the Financial Times, Aware Super and the Sovereign Wealth Fund each contributed £200 million (approximately €236 million), while Equitix added £100 million (about €118 million).
The investment couldn’t come at a more critical time. As the UK ramps up its renewable energy production, the challenge of integrating intermittent sources like wind and solar into the grid looms large. Battery storage is seen as a key piece of the puzzle. Eelpower Energy already has three battery storage plants in Scotland and England ready for construction. Each facility boasts a generation capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) and storage of 100 megawatt-hours (MWh), enough to power 240,000 homes for two hours.
Looking ahead, the investors plan to develop about 1 gigawatt (GW) of battery capacity by 2030. For context, the UK currently has around 4.5 GW of battery storage, but demand is projected to soar to between 23 and 27 GW. The gap is enormous, but so is the opportunity. Ian Brown, interim CEO of the Sovereign Wealth Fund, stressed the urgency: “There is an urgent need to enhance grid storage; equity investments so far have been insufficient due to revenue volatility.”
Equitix, for its part, expressed strong confidence in the long-term value of the sector, while Aware Super voiced enthusiasm for collaborating in the UK market. Their optimism is not unfounded. As more renewable energy comes online, the need for reliable storage solutions will only grow, making battery infrastructure a cornerstone of the UK’s push toward carbon neutrality by 2030.
These two developments—Bitpanda’s retreat from London’s capital markets and the major investment in Eelpower Energy—highlight the crosscurrents shaping the UK’s economic landscape in 2025. On one hand, the country faces tough questions about its ability to attract and retain high-growth companies in its financial markets. On the other, it’s making bold moves to future-proof its energy infrastructure and meet ambitious climate goals. Whether London can reclaim its status as a premier destination for IPOs remains to be seen, but for now, the energy sector’s momentum offers a glimmer of hope amid the uncertainty.