Robinhood opened applications for US initial public offerings to UK customers on November 9, giving retail investors a way to seek shares at the offer price before trading begins. The service carries no commission, but applications do not guarantee an allocation, and newly listed shares can be volatile. Customers can view prospectuses and US regulatory filings in the app.
Applications go through a general investment account
UK customers must apply through a general investment account, which is separate from the stocks and shares ISA Robinhood launched in the UK in February. The company has not named the UK public-offering platform provider it is working with.
Jordan Sinclair, Robinhood’s UK president, said the US IPO service is intended to give retail investors an opportunity to take part in new share offerings. Robinhood launched the feature in the US in 2021 and says it has since participated in more than 50 IPOs, serving millions of American customers. Coinbase is another example: it began accepting applications from eligible US retail investors in September, while restricting customers who sell their shares within 30 days of listing.
Robinhood cautioned that IPO shares can move sharply, particularly in the early days of trading. SpaceX shares fell about 32% in the two weeks after reaching a recent high on June 16, although at around $153 they remained above their $135 offer price. The move underscores that buying at the offer price does not ensure a stable market price after listing.
FCA rules widen retail access to UK IPOs
The UK Financial Conduct Authority opened a route for retail participation in January. Under the framework, companies can offer shares to a broad group of investors, including retail customers, without listing on a regulated market or publishing a full prospectus. Previously, UK IPO access was largely concentrated among high-net-worth individuals and large institutions; the new route allows more brokerage platforms to handle retail offerings.
SpaceX’s Nasdaq IPO in June showed the potential scale of the channel. UK investors subscribed for about $364 million of shares through the arrangements. Marex Financial handled the offering for UK retail customers, with eight platforms—including AJ Bell, CMC Markets and eToro—able to submit orders. Marex said more than 100,000 UK investors wanted to participate. Interactive Brokers also gave UK residents the opportunity to apply at the $135 offer price on June 4.
The framework has drawn criticism. Mike Coombes of PrimaryBid said it was designed for UK private companies and warned that overseas issuers could gain easier access to UK investors, while London-listed companies might not receive the same benefits. The FCA has said it wants to encourage retail investment.
Anthropic selects a different group of platforms
Anthropic has named six UK platforms for its planned retail offering, coordinated by RetailBook. Robinhood is not among them. Publicly announced platform lists show that at least four firms are involved in both the SpaceX and Anthropic arrangements: eToro, Interactive Brokers, AJ Bell and Interactive Investor.
Robinhood’s new service covers only US companies preparing to list; the company has not announced a way to apply for UK domestic IPOs. As the SpaceX offering and Anthropic’s planned issuance move forward, access for UK retail investors will depend on which platforms each issuer selects, the terms of the offering and the final allocation of shares.