IPOs and new issues: common questions

There are usually five stages to an IPO:

• Intention to float
• Price range and prospectus announced
• Offer period
• Offer closes and final pricing and allocation confirmed
• Trading

A company announces an IPO by issuing an ITF notice to a recognised stock exchange, such as the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The ITF includes information such as the company's investment highlights and details of who can invest – for example, institutions, professional investors and private retail investors.

During the ITF stage, you can register an interest with a stockbroker or investment service taking part in the IPO, such as Smart Investor, but you can’t place an order. They’ll keep you informed about the offer timings and when the IPO launches.

When the IPO launches, the company publishes its approved prospectus, pricing notification and any other key offer documents. The company also confirms what’s known as the ‘offer period’ for the IPO. This is the window during which you can buy shares at the launch price, before they start trading on a stock exchange such as the LSE. The pricing notification provides a guide range for the expected price of each share, but it isn’t guaranteed and the price could end up higher or lower. The 'offer period' can close early due to high demand.

Remember, you should only invest in an IPO after reading the prospectus and if you fully understand the risks involved.

Once the offer period closes and all applications are processed, the company announces the final price of the shares and the allocation policy. This usually happens within 48 hours of the offer closing.

If an offer is oversubscribed, you may receive less than you requested, known as 'scale back'. How this works is explained in the company's allocation policy. If the company doesn’t provide one, we'll use our own allocation policy.

When you apply through an authorised distributor – a broker that sells the shares on behalf of the company, such as Smart Investor – you will receive an email confirmation on the day the shares are allocated.

Smart Investor generally accepts applications from UK residents. However, the company participating in the IPO will set out further details of who can invest in the prospectus.

Before you invest, make sure you read the company’s prospectus, pricing notification and any other key offer documents. It’s important to fully understand the risks involved – the value of your investment could fall dramatically after the shares become available on the stock market.

Provided you are eligible to invest and meet the criteria outlined in the prospectus, you can invest online or by calling us on 0800 279 3667¹ or 0141 352 3919¹.

Smart Investor only accepts new account applications from residents in the UK.

If you are unsure whether an IPO is right for you, please seek financial advice.

Each IPO has a minimum investment – typically £1,000 – but no maximum. You can find out more about the minimum investment in the prospectus.

You can apply through all Smart Investor accounts.

We don’t charge any transaction fees to invest in an IPO. However, we may receive a payment from the issuing company. You can find out more in the terms of offer once the IPO launches.

There’s no minimum holding period, unless special conditions apply for shareholder benefits, which should be outlined in the prospectus.

Otherwise, you can sell your shares as soon as the final allocation is credited to your portfolio. This typically happens 48 hours after the offer closes and once the company announces the price and allocation policy.

Once the IPO closes, the shares start trading on the stock exchange. Depending on the level of demand, the share price can be more or less than the price paid in the IPO.

There’s a period of 'conditional' dealing that normally lasts for three days after the IPO. This allows the shares to settle and obtain a full listing on the stock exchange. During this time, certain transactions aren’t allowed, such as buying the shares within an ISA.

If the company decides to cancel the IPO during conditional dealing, all transactions will be cancelled.

Any shareholder benefits, special discounts and terms are explained in the prospectus.

IPOs can be an exciting investment opportunity. But as with any investment, you should make sure you understand the potential risks involved.

IPOs can be volatile and the share price may fall dramatically once the shares are available on the open market. When investing in an IPO, you won’t know the share price until the offer closes. A range is provided in the prospectus and pricing notification, but it isn’t guaranteed and you could end up paying more than expected.

You should only decide to invest in an IPO based on the prospectus, pricing notification and any other key offer documents issued by the company. If you’re unsure whether an IPO is right for you, seek financial advice.

You can find information on current and potential IPOs on our website. To stay up to date on current IPOs available through Smart Investor register your interest and we’ll keep you informed.

Not all IPOs are available through Smart Investor. This can be due to a number of factors, such as the size of the IPO, third-party restrictions or limited availability to institutional/professional investors.

Companies looking to issue new retail bonds announce to the market that they’re launching a new bond. They confirm the rate of interest, loan period, credit rating if applicable and any other key information about the bond.

The company also produces a prospectus and may issue an information booklet. You should only invest in a new issue retail bond once you’ve read the prospectus and fully understand the risks involved.

At launch, the company also confirms the bond’s offer period. Similar to an IPO, this is the window during which you can invest before the bond starts trading on the secondary market. Issues of new retail bonds can close early due to high demand with only hours of notice given to investors in some cases.

Depending on the company, the offer period can last between two and four weeks. As mentioned above, new issue retail bonds can close early due to high demand.

The company confirms your allocation of the bond and the date the bond launches on the market, usually within 24 hours of the offer period closing.

The company confirms your allocation of the bond and the date the bond launches on the market, usually within 24 hours of the offer period closing.

If an offer is oversubscribed, you may receive less than you apply for, known as 'scale back'. How this works is explained in the company's allocation policy. If the company doesn’t provide one, we'll use our own allocation policy.

Once the bond launches on the market, a buy/sell price is made available, which might be more or less than the price the bond was issued at. It’s influenced by factors such as changing interest rates, company performance, news and the credit rating of the issuing company.

These details are explained in the prospectus and information booklet.

The company issuing the bond will confirm who can invest in the prospectus.

Before you invest, make sure you read the company’s prospectus and information booklet and fully understand the risks involved. The value of your investment could fall dramatically if the issuer fails to meet their obligations.

Provided you’re eligible to invest and meet the criteria outlined in the company prospectus, you can invest online or by calling us on 0800 279 3667¹ or 0141 352 3919¹.

Smart Investor only accepts new account applications from residents in the UK.

The minimum investment for a new issue retail bond typically starts at £2,000 and increases in increments of £100. There’s no maximum amount you can invest. One share in the bond is equal to £1.

You can find details of the minimum investment in the prospectus and information booklet.

You can apply through all Smart Investor accounts.

We don’t charge any transaction fees to invest in a new issue retail bond. However, we may receive a payment from the issuing company. You can find out more in the terms of offer once the bond launches.

The value of bonds can fall as well as rise and you may receive back less than you invest if you sell bonds before maturity.

Also, if the issuer defaults on interest payments or fails to repay your initial investment, you may receive less than you are entitled to, and your investment is not covered by a financial compensation scheme.

You should only decide to invest in a new issue retail bond based on the prospectus, information booklet and any additional key offer documents issued by the company. If you’re unsure whether a new issue retail bond is right for you, seek financial advice.

Find out more about new issue retail bonds

Not all new issue retail bonds are available through Smart Investor. This can be due to a number of factors such as the size of the issue, third-party restrictions or limited availability to institutional and professional investors.