Europe, which has long trailed Silicon Valley in nurturing home-grown tech giants, is building up a pipeline of stock market candidates that are potentially looking to list in 2021.

Tech companies across Europe have been preparing to make the jump to the public market over the past year, benefiting from faster growth in digital business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is a list of few of those companies:

- Deliveroo, the British online food delivery business, is expected to list in London early next year. The London-based firm, which has appointed investment banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to manage the IPO, could be valued at more than 3 billion pounds, sources said.

- Swedish payments provider Klarna Bank AB, whose valuation has reached $5.5 billion, said a stock market listing is likely within the next couple of years.

- Cyber-security firm Darktrace is said to be pursuing a London listing in 2021, with the help of investment banks UBS, Jefferies and Berenberg. The British company is targeting a $5bn valuation.

- musicMagpie, the resale site that allows users to sell their old mobile phones, dvds and other electronic devices for cash, has also reportedly hired banks for an IPO in London next year.

"After a sustained period of strong performance, musicMagpie is reviewing a number of attractive alternatives to best support our continuing rapid growth," it said in a statement.

- German retailer Otto Group is planning to list its online fashion retailer About You in early 2021 in a deal that could value the company at about 3 billion euros as it hopes to benefit from a boom in online shopping in the covid-19 pandemic, sources said.

- Moonpig, the e-retailer of cards, gifts and flowers, is also exploring a listing in London or Amsterdam, where its principle operations are, sources said.

"As a high growth company we constantly evaluate our funding options, and regularly meet with advisers on this subject," a Moonpig spokesperson said.

- Trustpilot, the European equivalent of reviews site TripAdvisor, has been rumoured to be considering an IPO for over a year.

- German used-car dealing platform AUTO1 has hired investment banks Goldman Sachs, Citi and BNP Paribas as global coordinators for its IPO, which may value it up to 5 billion euros ($6.07 billion), sources said.

- Price comparison site Check24 is also looking at a listing in 2021 2022 among other options, sources said. Check24 was not immediately available for comment.

- The Parship Group, a German online dating company whose brands include eHarmony, Parship and Elite Partners, is also in talks with banking advisers for a potential IPO in 2022. Parship owner Prosiebensat declined to comment.

- French music distributor Believe is preparing a 2021 stock market flotation that could value it at around 2 billion euros as its owners seek to benefit from high valuations for tech companies, sources said.

  - Reuters