After four blockbuster years, the Middle East’s initial public offering boom is losing steam as valuations come under scrutiny and listings roar back in the US and Asia. In recent months, the Gulf’s listing volumes have fallen to their lowest since the pandemic, investors have become markedly more selective, and the region’s once-reliable first-day pop has faded.
Lulu Group is based in the UAE and counts numerous malls in India – Kozhikode District- Facebook
The change in sentiment was on show this week as Saudi Arabia’s EFSIM Facilities Management canceled plans for an up to $89 million listing on the kingdom’s main exchange. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has also slowed work on several planned first-time share sales, Bloomberg News has reported. Those moves come as the benchmark Tadawul index has dropped nearly 12% this year.
The Gulf had been a rare bright spot in recent years, buoyed by government privatisations and a push to deepen local capital markets. But lower oil prices have started to cloud the Middle East’s growth outlook, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, as IPO activity fired back up elsewhere, a region that thrived in a global listings drought suddenly faced competition.
The most striking shift this year was the sharp drop in IPO volumes across the Gulf, with regional listing proceeds more than halving from $13 billion to under $6 billion in 2025. In the UAE, listings slowed dramatically after the soft debuts of Lulu Retail Holdings PLC and Talabat Holding PLC late last year left investors more cautious. Dubai-based online classifieds platform Dubizzle Ltd. postponed its first-time share sale, a rare example of a pulled deal in the country. Oman, which had briefly outpaced London in IPO volumes in 2024, also saw activity dry up.
In Saudi Arabia, the EFSIM deal was pulled in part due to generally weaker market demand, people familiar with the matter said. Still, the kingdom’s IPO proceeds held steady compared to last year at roughly $4 billion, helping the kingdom reclaim its title as the Gulf’s busiest listing venue. But most deals came from the private sector as the government eased off on large privatisations.
“Government IPOs are large tickets, this year the market was not for this,” said Mostafa Gad, head of investment banking at EFG Hermes, one of the leading arranger of share sales in the Gulf. “Postponing the big ones was a very wise idea.”
The shift in sentiment was evident in deal size as well. Last year produced three IPOs nearing $2 billion after strong orderbooks allowed Talabat and Lulu to upsize their offerings late in the process, even though that enthusiasm didn’t carry into trading. In 2025, there was just one billion-dollar deal from low-cost carrier Flynas, and only four transactions topped $500 million.
Investors pushed toward smaller, simpler stories with clearer financials, “Anything above $500 million starts to get difficult,” said Gad, “People are not willing to navigate through a lot of complexity.”
If UAE IPOs slowed, follow-ons filled the gap. Secondary share sales in the emirates climbed toward $5 billion, overtaking IPO proceeds for the first time. Much of that activity came from Abu Dhabi government-backed shareholders trimming stakes to boost free floats, liquidity and index weightings.
Even Qatar, which has largely missed the Gulf-wide share sale boom, saw rare activity: Ooredoo’s multi-million-dollar stake sale by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority became the country’s most significant ECM event in years. Saudi follow-on volumes were more muted than last year, which was dominated by the government’s $12 billion sell-down in oil major Aramco.
Another defining shift came in performance. The 30% plus first-day jumps that had become a feature of Gulf listings started to crack in late 2024 and evaporated in 2025. In Saudi Arabia, the average listing gain turned negative, and only two of the kingdom’s ten largest IPOs now trade above offer. Broader market weakness didn’t help – Saudi equities were among the worst performers in emerging markets this year, dragged down by softer oil prices and concerns that this could dampen government spending.
Demand has also suffered in recent listings. Riyadh developer Al Ramz’s institutional investor books were only 11 times covered earlier this month, a far cry from the triple-digit oversubscription levels that were the norm months ago.
IPOs in the UAE fared better, but signs of fatigue appeared there too. Even contractor Alec Holdings PJSC – state-backed and the kind of deal that historically delivered a strong debut – traded tepidly on day one and is up a modest 3%. Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s main stock indices overall performed relatively well, but instant double-digit listing gains were no longer a given.
For some, that’s a welcome correction. “Everyone will adjust to the idea that not all IPOs will perform 30–40% on day one,” Gad said. “We’re becoming a mature market.”
One year on from his passing, Catalan fashion company Mango is commemorating the legacy of Isak Andic. In memory of its founder, who lost his life on December 14, 2024 in a tragic mountaineering accident in Barcelona, Mango has undertaken a series of commemorative initiatives across its stores and corporate channels to highlight the business, human, and philanthropic legacy of the entrepreneur, born in Istanbul in 1953.
Exterior of the Catalan brand’s store on Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona, adorned with a special tribute to Isak Andic. – Mango
In this context, some of the company’s most emblematic stores have dressed their windows with a portrait of Andic and messages inside that evoke his legacy. Specifically, the tributes have reached its stores from Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona to Serrano in Madrid, as well as international locations such as Oxford Street in London, Fifth Avenue in New York, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. In parallel, Mango added a black ribbon to its e-commerce platform and shared a commemorative video on its internal channels and social media.
The audiovisual tribute, produced by company employees drawing on hours of archival footage and interviews, captures the founder’s lessons and reflections in his own voice. “Isak was a visionary who transformed a personal dream into a global brand. His legacy remains a constant source of inspiration for all of us,” the company shared on its LinkedIn profile alongside the video, adding that “his spirit lives on in every step we take towards the future, as we continue to work to fulfil his vision and ensure that Mango is a project he would be proud of.”
For his part, the group’s CEO and executive chairman, Toni Ruiz, shared a personal letter addressed to Andic, both internally and on his LinkedIn profile, in which he reaffirmed that the values that defined the founder will guide the brand’s next steps. In it, he remembers Andic as “a brilliant entrepreneur and an exceptional person,” stressing that “there has not been a single day on which we have not remembered him.” “Mango continues to sail steadily towards new horizons,” he said.
Ruiz recalled the conversations and ideas left unfinished and highlighted the trust that the founder placed in the team, noting that “Mango is made up of excellent professionals and even better people.” The executive also reviewed the milestones of the past year, from double-digit growth to international expansion and momentum across all product lines, as well as progress at Mango Campus and the company’s focus on innovation and artificial intelligence- areas that Andic always emphasised. “What could have been a difficult year, we have together turned into a historic one,” he stressed. The letter concludes with a message of gratitude on behalf of the 17,000 people who make up the company and with the phrase the founder often repeated: “the sky is the limit.”
In parallel, during the last year there have also been significant changes in the structure of the family holding company that owns Mango. Following the death of Isak Andic, his three children reorganised the family’s companies under Punta Na Holding, the entity that brings together the family investment vehicles and controls the vast majority of the fashion company’s capital. In this context, the eldest son, Jonathan Andic, stepped down in June from his position as global director of Mango Man, a role he had held for 17 years, to focus fully on managing the family’s investment companies, which include business and property investments, sharing corporate governance responsibilities with his sisters Sarah and Judith.
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Expanding women’s fashion retailer Wyse London is set to open a pop-up store in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Saturday (13 December).
Wyse London
The 550 sq ft space on Frederick Street isn’t just for Christmas as it’s opening until next May, housing the brand’s latest styles from its Autumn/Winter collection, including bestsellers the Liana Chunky Funnel Neck Jumper, Philippa Pea Coat and festive dresses and tops.
The pop-up marks the latest in a series of new store openings, “following the successful introduction to the North of England” in York in September. That became its fourth permanent UK store, joining the brand’s two in London – Chelsea and Marylebone – as well as Southwold, Suffolk.
More stores, both pop-up and permanent, are planned over 2026 both nationally and internationally, the retailer said.
Founder Marielle Wyse added: “Edinburgh has become an increasingly significant city for us, as we’ve seen a rapidly growing community of customers shopping with us online, so opening a physical pop-up feels like the natural next step.
“The city’s cultural heritage and vibrant population offers a setting that aligns perfectly with our brand values, while the thriving tourism scene brings an energy and international audience we’re excited to welcome. With a discerning retail landscape, the city gives us a unique opportunity to build deeper relationships with both existing and new customers.”
Following the “outstanding success of its inaugural year”, textiles brand Maxxam is linking with the Graduate Fashion Foundation (GFF) to launch the second edition of their national design competition.
Image: Maxxam/GFF
Building on the “momentum, creativity, and exceptional talent showcased last year”, the 2025/26 competition invites fashion students across the UK and internationally “to reimagine the future of womenswear using Maxxam’s seamless, four-way stretch textiles.
Open to second- and final-year students from GFF-member universities, the competition “challenges entrants to create a trend-led womenswear S/S 2027 capsule collection”.
This year’s brief places “a stronger spotlight on interchangeable, multipurpose athleisure-inspired pieces, with particular emphasis on swimwear”.
Students are encouraged to “explore new stripe variations, jacquards, surface effects and sustainable design strategies, reflecting [Maxxam’s] ongoing commitment to low-waste manufacturing and its transition toward bio-based fibres”.
Three finalists will be selected to produce one full look from their submitted range, working hands-on with Maxxam Textiles and its UK manufacturing partners. These final looks will be showcased at Graduate Fashion Week 2026, displayed within the exhibition and modelled on the catwalk during the prestigious Gala Show.
From these finalists, there will be one overall winner, who will be awarded a trophy on the Gala runway on 18 June 2026, alongside a £250 cash prize and further industry mentoring experiences.
Rosemary Moore, inventor of the brand’s original fabric, said: “We are excited once more to be part of GFW It was a real pleasure connecting to the new generation of students last year and supporting them through the creative and the manufacturing process, we are aiming this year to also take them behind the scenes of our textile manufacturing in the midlands, especially if they offer creative concepts we can put into practice for them.”
Politics8 years ago