CITY BANKERS are forecasting a bumper $20 billion (£12 billion) of stock-market floats in the next two years as hopes of a recovery trigger a renewed bout of fundraising.

Morgan Stanley predicts 35 to 40 companies could float in Europe in the next two years. Household names including Birds Eye Iglo, the frozen-food firm that makes fish fingers, and Acromas, the combined AA motoring and Saga overfifties group, are seen as prime candidates for a return to the public markets.

Figures from Thomson Reuters show there are already 146 floats in the global pipeline, worth $27 billion. Lisa Carnoy, global head of equity capital markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said: “The IPO [float] market is open. Investors are interested in companies new to the markets.”

So far this year America has led the way with 12 listings, including Rosetta Stone, a computer and electronics company that raised $129m, and Mead Johnson Nutrition, a food and beverage company that grabbed $828m. Other stock-market debutants included OpenTable, a restaurant reservations system, and Digital Globe, a telecoms business.

In Europe so far this year there have been only two listings – Max Property Group, a fund run by property tycoon Nick Leslau, and Bogdanka, a Polish mining company.

Elsewhere in the world blockbuster deals have included flotations by China’s Zhongwang Holdings, which raised $1.3 billion, and Vodafone’s Qatari operations, which went public in a $929m deal.

Momentum will be buoyed by the biggest float of the year so far, which was launched in Brazil on Friday. Shares in Visanet, the Brazilian affiliate of the credit-card giant Visa, were offered to investors by a consortium of banks, raising $4.3 billion.

In 2007 and 2008 thousands of companies worked feverishly to prepare stock-market listings, but their plans were dashed by the downturn. Now they are seeking capital from share markets as an alternative to expensive loans from banks.

China is expected to be at the centre of the global activity. Guilin San-jin, a manufacturer of Chinese medicine is preparing to float this week on the Shenzhen stock exchange, the market for the country’s smaller companies, with an expected value of about $100m. Another 30 firms have reportedly received regulatory consent and have begun final preparation and marketing, while 400 more wait to be approved.

Despite the rise in deals during the second quarter, float volumes remain low compared with the period of the boom. So far in 2009, the total proceeds have been $11.7 billion, 85% less than a year ago.

The money raised is small compared with capital raisings by companies that are already listed. So far this year they have raised $207.8 billion worldwide in the second quarter alone.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive