London floats collapse by a third after big names opt for New York
Drivers on the London Stock Exchange fall by third in the first half of 2023: Big names opt for New York
Stock prices on the London Stock Exchange have fallen by a third in the first six months of 2023.
Eighteen listed companies in this period, compared to 26 in the same period last year.
It was also much lower than in 2021, when 49 companies went public. Middle East luxury real estate group Dar Global was one of a handful to go public in early 2023, posting a £480 million return in March.
Slump: Companies stopped floats and mergers in 2020 at the height of the pandemic
The slump comes after a heart-stopping start to the year when a slew of big firms said they would leave their London listings for New York. Among them was microchip company ARM despite a campaign by ministers.
Within days, several other companies also said they were looking across the Atlantic, and building materials group CRH later moved its shares to New York.
The LSE suffered another blow earlier this month when WE Soda, the world’s largest producer of natural soda ash, turned against London two weeks after revealing its plans for a £6bn listing.
The Turkish company blamed “extreme investor caution” in the UK.
Companies stopped floats and mergers in 2020 at the height of the pandemic. In 2021 there was a deluge of listings as markets recovered, but the past 18 months have seen a lack of new entries.