Stock market flotations sink to all-time low, survey shows

The UK new issues market is at an all-time low and shows no sign of recovery, according to research released today. The grim assessment comes ahead of this week's first-half merger and acquisition league tables, which are set to show mergers and acquisitions down by 50 per cent.

Only six trading companies joined the main London stock market in the first half of the year, against 28 in the same period last year, according to KPMG.

A plethora of venture capital trust launches, along with the relisting of Orange in February, saw the total amount of money raised in London jump from £3.7bn to £6.8bn. Orange raised £3.9bn, while Michael Page, the recruitment firm, raised, £670m.

Neil Austin, KPMG's head of corporate finance, said it would be premature to look for a recovery in the market before the autumn. "The main London market remains dormant. For the majority of aspiring companies the markets remain closed,'' he said.

Some 34 venture capital trusts raised funds on the stock market, up from 21 in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, figures out today from Dealogic, the financial markets researcher, will show the value of M&A deals plunging 52 per cent to $360bn (£254bn) on a European basis, and by 49 per cent to $953bn (£673bn) on a worldwide basis. Goldman Sachs holds on to the number one slot in the global M&A performance rankings, advising on deals worth $290bn (£205bn). It is followed by Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, last year's number two and four. In the European rankings, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein jumps from ninth to first place, followed by UBS and Goldmans.

Goldmans and DKW advised on the takeover of Powergen by E.ON, its German rival. Goldmans also advised Vodafone on its purchase of a 20 per cent stake in Japan Telecom. DKW advised France's Lafarge on its takeover of Blue Circle, its UK cement rival