Exodus from the London Stock Exchange: 800 listed companies lost in ten years

2025 was one of the most significant years for the phenomenon. The British fintech firm Wise has secured shareholder approval to transfer its primary listing to the United States, whilst maintaining a secondary listing in London. The company cited the need to broaden access to capital and increase visibility amongst global investors as the reasons for the decision.

Particular attention was also drawn to AstraZeneca’s decision: whilst ruling out a delisting from the UK market, the company had announced its intention to switch to a direct listing in the United States. With a market capitalisation of over £170 billion, it is one of the City’s flagship companies. The debut on the NYSE took place on 2 February, and with this move, trading in AstraZeneca’s ordinary shares has been harmonised between the NYSE, the LSE and Nasdaq Stockholm (STO), as part of a unified listing structure that aligns the main markets where the stock is traded. For many observers, this could create a knock-on effect among other British blue chips.

In the same year, Petershill Partners opted to delist from the London Stock Exchange, citing the share’s disappointing performance and low market valuation, whilst the pharmaceutical company Indivior delisted from its secondary listing, citing cost savings and a greater focus on its US operations as the reasons for its decision. The list was then joined by ice-cream manufacturer Magnum, a spin-off from Unilever, which chose Amsterdam as its primary market for its stock market debut with a valuation of around €7.8 billion.

In addition to the exodus of existing listed companies, there is a growing difficulty in attracting new entrants.

The most telling example remains Arm Holdings. In 2023, the British semiconductor designer chose the Nasdaq for its listing, despite repeated attempts by the British government to bring the group back to London following its acquisition by SoftBank.

More recently, according to Reuters sources, the fast-fashion group Shein is also working on a listing in Hong Kong after its London IPO failed to secure approval from the Chinese authorities. The group had previously also explored the New York route, in an attempt to strengthen its global image and attract major Western investors.

In the commodities sector, however, Cobalt has withdrawn its planned IPO in the UK due to insufficient investor demand. With a valuation of around $230 million, it would have been the largest debut on the London Stock Exchange since Air Astana’s listing in February 2024.

This trend is nothing new. In 2024, Just Eat Takeaway delisted from the London Stock Exchange to reduce administrative and regulatory costs. Ashtead, a long-standing member of the UK market since 1986, announced that it was relisting in New York. In the same year, the oil group Woodside Energy and the consultancy firm Unisys also left the market, whilst the shareholders of TUI, Europe’s largest tour operator, approved the switch to a German-only listing, arguing that a single listing in Germany better reflects the ownership structure and trading flows.

Looking back at previous years, the insurance brokerage giant Marsh & McLennan, Kingspan, valued at approximately $99.08 billion, announced its delisting from the LSE due to low trading volumes, whilst retaining its primary listing on the NYSE. Building materials manufacturer CRH, valued at approximately $80.44 billion, transferred its primary listing to the NYSE in 2023, whilst retaining a standard listing on the LSE. Even earlier, plumbing products supplier Ferguson had moved its primary listing to the United States. In 2021, the world’s largest mining group by market capitalisation made Australia its primary market when it abandoned its dual listing structure in 2021.

For the London Stock Exchange, the problem is not merely the number of listed companies, but above all the quality and size of the groups that are leaving the market. Many of the companies involved are, in fact, among the largest in terms of market capitalisation and operate in strategic sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology, financial services and commodities. The British authorities have launched several reforms in recent years to make the market more competitive and encourage new listings. But despite these initiatives, Wall Street’s competitive advantage continues to exert a strong pull. This is also because one of the main criticisms increasingly highlighted is the low level of trading, in addition to the high costs of listing in London.

Flutter’s listing confirms that the battle to revitalise the City is far from over. And that the main challenge is not merely to attract new IPOs, but to convince national and international champions already listed on the LSE that London can still offer valuations and liquidity comparable to those of the US markets.