The number of companies floating shares on the London Stock Exchange has tumbled to the lowest level for more than a decade, a report showed today.
In the last three months of 2001, the amount of money raised in initial public offerings fell 93% to £184m sterling, according to the KPMG consultancy.
Only nine trading companies came to the market in the whole of 2001, KPMG said, compared to 72 last year.
Share flotation has become a risky business this year because of shrinking investor appetite in a market that has fallen some 16% in value since January.
