Come back Sid! City minister calls for investors to buy British
Come back Sid! The city minister harks back to the privatization boom of the 1980s as he calls on investors to buy British
City Secretary Andrew Griffith urged UK private investors to return to the stock market, harking back to the ‘Tell Sid’ privatization boom of the 1980s.
“Come back, Sid, we’re going to make it easier and better for you,” Griffith told a financial services audience.
He was speaking at the launch of a report from industry body UK Finance that identified ways to reverse ‘negative trends’ in the UK, but also sought to dispel false perceptions about its problems.
Buy Brits: City Secretary Andrew Griffith (pictured) urged UK private investors to return to the stock market as he harked back to the ‘Tell Sid’ privatization boom of the 1980s
It comes while searching for souls in the City and Westminster about London’s status as a financial center after a number of companies chose to list in the US rather than the UK.
Cambridge-based chip designer Arm’s decision to stage a blockbuster in New York instead of London later this year was a particularly hard blow.
A high-level City task force has been set up to examine the changes needed, while proposed reforms by the government and regulators are already underway.
UK Finance’s analysis was the latest in a slew of reports that offers solutions: identifying the need to increase available capital for growth companies and encouraging an environment where investors are willing to take risks for greater rewards.
Griffith was referring to the Tell Sid marketing campaign of 1986, when the public was urged to buy shares in the privatization of British Gas. He said, “We need to create new opportunities for private investors to re-enter the ownership of public companies.”