Pearson eyes Wall St switch

EdUCATIOnAL publisher Pearson said it could not rule out a move to Wall Street, raising alarm bells that London could lose another firm.

The FTSE 100 company makes more than 60pc of its revenue in the US and has been expanding its courses in north America. Sally Johnson, chief financial officer, said: ‘We don’t have any plans at the moment but where anything makes sense for our stakeholder groups, of course we consider it.’

It came after British chip designer Arm said it will list in new York, and not London. Plumber Ferguson moved its primary listing to new York last year, saying north America was now its natural home.

Pearson said: ‘We’re proud of our FTSE heritage and we’ve got a very supportive and long- standing shareholder base via our listing here in London.’ It said sales climbed 5pc to £3.8bn last year, while profits jumped 11pc to £456m, smashing analysts’ expectations.