Peel Hunt boss says ‘swap has been flicked’ on City gloom

Optimism: Peel Hunt boss Steven Fine (pictured) said that there were ‘tentative signs… that a recovery is under way’

The boss of broker Peel Hunt said a ‘switch has been flicked’ in the City after a bumper float this week lifted hopes of a recovery for London listings.

Steven Fine said that there were ‘tentative signs… that a recovery is under way’.

Earlier this year, he warned of a ‘doom loop’ as low valuations made London less attractive and left firms vulnerable to bargain basement takeovers, further hollowing out the market.Now, however, a float pipeline is building, including, this week, computer company Raspberry Pi, whose value soared as much as 50 per cent to more than £800million in subsequent days’ trading. 

Fine pointed to the listing, which Peel Hunt worked on, as evidence of a recovery.

‘I think a switch has been flicked in terms of sentiment,’ he told the Financial Times.

The City has been racked by soul-searching since Cambridge-based chip firm Arm listed in New York, with other companies following.

With costs rising, Peel Hunt said its losses for the year to the end of March widened to £3.3million, from £1.5million a year earlier.