BAT is not about to leave the London stock market, the new chief emphasizes

BAT is not about to leave the London stock market, the new chief emphasizes

Tadeu Marroco: No plans for change

British American Tobacco’s new boss has rejected calls to leave the London stock market.

Tadeu Marroco, who took over in May, snubbed rumors that the company would be a better fit for the New York Stock Exchange. “It’s not my priority. This will never be at the top of my priority list,” he told the Daily Mail.

Major shareholder GQG Partners has called on BAT to move. The argument is that a US primary listing would give BAT a higher valuation and more exposure to its largest market.

But Marroco said BAT – which has been listed in London for more than a century – had a “very good investor base in the UK”.

He said the UK market was “very benign” towards listed companies. “If we leave the FTSE, there is no guarantee we will end up in the S&P,” he added.

Jefferies analyst Owen Bennett said the move to the US would “make sense” for BAT as US investors are more receptive to lower risk products. But Panmure analyst Rae Maile said a move wouldn’t necessarily equate to a higher valuation.