With the FTSE 100 index approaching a new record high, the scene must surely be set for the flood of IPOs that equity market pundits were predicting at the start of the year. Right? Er, no. There will not be a flood. There may be little more than a trickle.

The most bullish predictions always seemed to owe more to wishful thinking than sober analysis. True, there was a strong pipeline of flotations and a bit of backlog due to the market wobbles over the Scottish referendum in September. Some issues were pulled with a view to coming back this year. And with a UK general election coming up in May, some observers were predicting a scramble to get away in the first quarter this year to avoid the electoral uncertainty. But it always seemed likely that some companies would prefer to wait until the result was clear.