Zilch wants UK IPO support as it mulls a float

Zilch, a fintech firm backed by eBay currently based in the UK, has threatened to float abroad if the next British government fails to boost the market for tech firms.

Chief executive Philip Belamant says the payments firm is holding off on listing in London until it sees evidence of government policies aimed at creating "liquidity and excitement around IPOs".

These comments came as the company landed £100 million of debt financing from Deutsche Bank.

This funding was described as a precursor for a potential IPO.

Belamant, meanwhile, is looking to see “pension funds investing in high-growth British companies” and “incentives for retail investors to buy and hold British stocks”.

“If this all happens, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want to list on the LSE . . . But of course, if it doesn’t happen, then we have to take the appropriate decision and that might be to go somewhere else,” Belamant said in comments to the media.

London has been ailing in profile over the past year, witnessing an exodus of its mid-to-large companies – some going private, others being taken over by private equity, and others moving over to the United States in search of better valuations and stronger liquidity.