100 firms back London in boost for UK plc

ONE hundred businesses will have floated on the London Stock Exchange by the end of the year in a sign of the City’s global dominance.

This is 51 per cent higher than in 2016 and more than anywhere else in Europe.

The figure is fresh evidence that London will remain a global finance hub long after Brexit, and is the latest in a slew of upbeat announcements about the sector.

Nikhil Rathi of the London Stock Exchange said: ‘Despite the challenges Brexit presents, London’s highly global, deep and liquid capital markets continue to be the ideal partner for funding the world’s growth.’ There have already been 98 floats in London this year, with two more due this week – Israeli miner Shefa Yamim, seeking to raise £7.5million, and Belfast drug-maker Fusion Antibodies, which is seeking £5.5million.

Companies raised more than £14.8billion by listing on the exchange in the past 12 months – almost four times higher than the closest European rival and the second-highest in the world after New York.

And in an encouraging sign, nine out of the top ten floats were for foreign businesses, including the £10.6billion listing of Allied Irish Bank which was the largest in Europe.

Bosses also said that 20 North American firms picked London to list in another sign of the UK’s international appeal.

It came after lobby group TheCityUK said that Britain’s finance industries bring in a £57bn trade surplus each year, far outranking any other European nation.

The group added that Britain has £6trillion of banking assets, the highest figure in Europe, is the top foreign exchange centre on the planet, and also has the biggest insurance industry. Anjalika Bardalai, chief economist at TheCityUK, said: ‘The UK’s place in the global financial system is unparalleled ... London’s only real rival as a full-spectrum, truly global centre is New York.’

British investment companies look after a record £8.2trillion of savers’ cash, TheCityUK said, and the country’s law – seen as a key advantage because it is the basis of contracts on every continent – has spawned the world’s second-biggest legal industry, with revenues of up to £476billion.

A separate report by law firm Baker McKenzie found that the amount raised by foreign firms floating on the London Stock Exchange surged to a five-year high of £6billion in 2017.