The chip maker ARM decided against listing its shares in London, despite plenty of arm twisting from the government. The building materials group CRH decided last month that New York was a better place for its equity to be traded, leaving the FTSE for good. The mining giant BHP has moved its listing from London to Sydney, while another materials group, Ferguson, switched from London to New York last year. And now hotel group IHG may make the same journey.
At these rates, no one will need the Prime Minister’s new plan to boost numeracy to count the number of companies still listed on the London market. The fingers of one hand will be more than enough to tot up the total. The direction of travel is a disaster. The London equity market is in a steep decline – and the government needs to take action, quickly.
It is madness to sit idly by and watch the London Stock Exchange dwindle into irrelevance.
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