By Lars Mucklejohn
Fast fashion giant Shein is reportedly stepping up preparations for a blockbuster IPO on the London Stock Exchange following regulatory hurdles and pushback from lawmakers across the pond.
The firm, which was founded in China but is now headquartered in Singapore, plans to update China’s securities regulator on the change of its listing venue from New York to London and file with the London Stock Exchange as soon as this month, a source told Reuters.
Shein is said to have started engaging with the London-based teams of its financial and legal advisors to explore a listing in the City earlier this year. It has also reportedly approached London-based fund managers for introductory meetings ahead of the planned float.
Shein and the LSE declined to comment. The China Securities Regulatory Commission did not respond to a request for comment.
The firm’s plan for a New York IPO remains officially on the table, but it has struggled with regulatory hurdles in both the US and China. Last May, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers urged the SEC to block Shein’s IPO until it verified it did not use forced labour.
A source told Reuters that Shein was valued at $66bn in a fundraising last year.
A London float would come as a major boost for the capital’s beleaguered bourse, which is struggling with a dearth of IPOs and a wave of major companies being taken private or moving their listings overseas.
US private equity firm Thoma Bravo struck a $5.3bn (£4.3bn) deal to buy British cyber security company Darktrace, triggering calls for urgent government action amid fears that London’s biggest firms are set to begin leaving the market.
A failed bid for mining giant Anglo American last month came shortly after comments the chief executive of Shell, the FTSE 100’s second-biggest company, stoked fears it could move its listing elsewhere.
Separately, The Times reported on Saturday that British computer firm Raspberry Pi was finalising plans for a London float at a valuation of up to £500m. The firm declined to comment.
