The number of companies applying to have their shares listed on the London stock market has slumped to a record low, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The news that firms are shunning the City is yet another blow for the Square Mile, which is already reeling from an exodus of household businesses that have quit in the hope their shares will be valued more highly in the US or other overseas exchanges.
In the latest setback, mining giant Glencore last week said it was looking to move its main listing from the UK. It comes shortly after Unilever said it was floating its £12.5 billion ice-cream unit, including the Magnum brand, in Amsterdam instead of London.
A total of 88 firms delisted or transferred their primary listing from the London Stock Exchange in 2024. This is the highest number since the financial crisis of 2008, according to auditor EY.
Only 18 companies came on to the London market last year as the vital flow of small and growing businesses raising capital by listing their shares on the London stock market dries up.
The lifeblood of the City, these initial public offering applications peaked at 125 in 2021. But a mere 45 firms applied to join the main market in 2024, down a quarter on the year before, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulator, which checks applicants’ plans, approved just 30 of the 45, half the number of recent years. It means 2025 is sure to be another poor year for flotations as the pipeline is weak. Only one firm has floated on the main market this year raising a paltry £1.5 million.
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The outlook is ‘not pretty’, says Joshua Raymond, who runs investment platform XTB, It obtained the figures via a freedom of information request.
‘Despite positive noises last year from some big-name companies that have indicated they may look to list in London, the data suggests 2025 is unlikely to see any significant pick up on the London market,’ he added.
Among firms planning to list in London is fast-fashion retailer Shein. Shadow security minister Alicia Kearns last week said Shein had ‘no place’ on London’s stock market given her ‘grave concerns’ about the firm’s ethics.
Shein had hoped for a £50 billion price tag but may fetch only half that after setbacks, including a tax clampdown ordered by Donald Trump on low-value parcels from China. Kearns also accused Ministers of kowtowing to Beijing to attract firms to the London market to show Britain is open for business.
The FCA said it introduced a more streamlined listings regime last year, which included removing the need for a shareholder vote on significant deals, but results would take time.
‘We undertook the most far-reaching reforms of the UK’s listings rules in three decades because our regime had fallen increasingly out of step with those of other countries,’ an FCA spokesperson added.
The Mail on Sunday is calling for the stamp duty levied on share purchases to be scrapped. But the grass is not always greener. Of the 20 British firms that moved their listing to the US in recent years, only four have seen their shares rise above the listing price.
The London Stock Exchange declined to comment.
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