An organisation has predicted that the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) being made will spike through 2010.

An organisation has predicted that the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) being made will spike through 2010.

F&C has claimed that a backlog of companies interested in floating have been waiting for banks to become more willing to lend.

It suggested that, while the larger end of the market is not prepared for IPOs, smaller firms are better positioned for this.

Catherine Stanley, director of UK Small-Cap for the group, has claimed that there are a number of firms valued at between £25 million and £400 million which are likely to have successful flotations.

She said: "These are largely companies which are not private equity-backed or over-leveraged but, rather, have sensible balance sheets and cashflow."

Ms Stanley said that the fact these groups are more likely to have realistic pricing expectations is also in their favour.

Georgina Taylor, equity strategist for Legal and General Investment Management, has warned that hedge funds will find the UK equity market more difficult to deal with in 2010 than last year.