Conviction Life Sciences has abandoned its launch, meaning the 13-month drought in investment company flotations will continue for the time being.

In a statement the company, which had hoped to raise up to £100m for former stockbroker and investment author Andrew Craig, said ‘market conditions continue to be challenging’ as it announced its decision to not to proceed with an initial public offer (IPO).

A sign that the launch was in trouble came in November when chair Geoff Miller said company would extend the offer period beyond Christmas.

Attention will now turn to AT85 Global Mid-Market Infrastructure Income which is looking to raise up to £300m in a second attempt at flotation. The closed-end fund, which will be managed by Andrew Bishop at Astatine Investment Partners, published its prospectus in 10 January and will close its offer on 23 February.

Investment company participants are hoping AT85 will succeed and provide a positive signal for their sector. Last year was the first since 1978 that failed to provide a single fund launch on the London Stock Exchange last year.

Renewable infrastructure fund Thomas Lloyd Energy Impact (TLEI ) was the last investment company to list, squeezing on to the stock market after raising £87m from external investors in December 2021, two months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine killed the IPO market stone dead.

It followed a busy year for launches with the likes of Pantheon Infrastructure (PINT ) and the Cordiant (CORD ) and Triple Point (DGI9 ) digital infrastructure funds raising the most money.