By Andy Silvester
FLUTTER said yesterday that New York would be its “natural home” in another blow to London’s bruised and battered stock exchange.
The owner of PaddyPower and – more pertinently – US powerhouse Fanduel said it would look to turn what is currently a secondary listing on Wall Street into a permanent home.
The gambling giant has leant in to the liberalisation of gambling laws in the US and it now represents the company’s most obvious growth path.
“With out NYSE listing effective today, this is a pivotal moment for the group as we make Flutter more accessible to US-based investors and gain access to deeper capital markets.”
Should Flutter depart, with the plan set to be put to shareholders later this year, it would be another hammer blow to the London Stock Exchange.
In recent months it has already lost Tui, the German travel operator, which moved its primary listing back to Frankfurt blaming low liquidity in London.
And just last week two firms – Wincanton and Benchmark – complained that the capital’s market was no longer providing for them.
It is a long-term trend.
Data released yesterday suggested the combined market capitalisation of London Stock Exchange-listed firms has shrunk by 17 per cent since 2013, inthe latest sign of the exchange’s struggles.
Analysis of data by investment platform XTB also revealed that the number of firms listed on the London Stock Exchange has fallen by more than 25 per cent over the last decade, with the pace accelerating in 2023.
The number of companies listed in London decreased in nine of the last ten years, whilst the total value of companies listed on the LSE only grew – in nominal terms – in three of the last ten years due to the pace of delisting.
Joshua Raymond, director of XTB said the data “identifies a problem – and suggests that it is getting worse.
“These kinds of trends can take a long time to turn around and will need a concerted effort by all parties. However, London retains all the key attributes that companies and investors look for, the institutions, talent pool and rule of law that underpins all successful markets.”
Earlier this month the Corporation of the City of London reported that London had retained its number one slot in the global rankings of financial centre, but acknowledged that the capital’s listing woes imperilled that status.
