London will lose “to New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai for years to come,” warn city bosses

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ITY figures warned today that London is at risk of becoming a stock market backwater, with large floats now almost certainly heading to rival financial centers like New York.

There has been concern for months that London stocks are unattractive, with pension funds shunning them in part because of unhelpful regulation. The lack of floats hurt the city’s revenues.

Alasdair Haynes of Aquis Exchange, an advocate for the reform, said: “There is a lot of money waiting to be invested in ambitious and innovative companies. The conditions have to be right. The threat of recession and penalty inflation are not attractive to investors. IPOs worth billions are likely Billions in the range of New York, Hong Kong and Shanghai in the coming years.”

Those concerns grew today when numbers showed that there were only five new gigs this year.

The main market has only seen two IPOs (initial public offerings) with AIM getting three, raising just £81m from investors.

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That’s down 80% from a year ago according to EY, the latest sign that London stocks are ditching and that companies looking to float are increasingly looking to America or Hong Kong.

There was good news today when a UK investment fund, Ashoka WhiteOak Emerging Markets, said it aimed to raise £100m from a new float on the London Stock Exchange.

However, the fund itself must invest, not in London, but in stocks of global emerging markets.

This lack of new market activity is squeezing big banks and smaller city brokers, nearly all of whom have laid off staff since Christmas.

Bank fluctuations that saw Silicon Valley bank need a bailout hardly helped sentiment.

Susanna Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Capital has already lost its crown as Europe’s largest trading centre, and more companies appear increasingly reluctant to list not only due to recent market volatility but also because of the perception that it is difficult to start as a listed entity. In London more from anywhere else.”

The government is planning a series of measures outlined in the fall statement to boost the city’s competitiveness, but there are fears that it may be too late.

British stocks are trading at significant discounts to those in the US, making chiefs think it would be much better to float in New York.

The FTSE 100 rose today 32 points to 7,774, leaving it flat for the past 12 months.

By comparison, gold has jumped past $2,000 as investors seek a safe haven from market turmoil.

Bitcoin has also enjoyed a rebound, surpassing $30,000 for the first time since last June.

Ross Mould of AJ Bell says: “One of the primary functions of the stock market is to provide capital that companies can use to invest, grow, expand and hire, so it is understandable that London has not seen enough listing activity. This will be used as another stick to beat the city and entice more.” From critics for portraying the London Stock Exchange as a stock exchange for the 21st century with a major stock index for the 20th century.

Debbie O’Hanlon of EY said: “Once there is evidence of a more stable market, investor confidence should return, and high-profile companies that have postponed IPO plans may resume, albeit with companies needing to accept lower valuations than they obtained in a year.” 2021. Summit.”

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