Open Editor's Digest for free
Rula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Construction equipment rental group Ashtead has announced plans to move its listing from London to New York, in a further blow to the UK stock market.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the FTSE 100 group said: “The board has concluded that the US market is the natural long-term listing location for the group” and that moving its primary listing to New York was in its best interests.
Almost all of the group's operating profits come from North America, a key region for business growth. The company, which has a market value of £28 billion, added that its executive management and operational headquarters are located in the United States, as are most of its employees.
Ashtid He also said there would be “enhanced overall liquidity in the group's shares thanks to access to deeper US capital markets.”
It added that it would maintain its listing in the United Kingdom, in the international companies sector of the London Stock Exchange.
This move will be subject to shareholder approval.
Ashted decision Follow the moves By fellow FTSE 100 groups, including Flutter, which owns Paddy Power, and construction materials group CRH. Ferguson, formerly known as Wolseley, shifted its listing to the US in 2022, while earlier this year activist investor John Wood Group called on engineer John Wood Group to consider a similar shift.
Last year, Ashtead said it had no plans to move its listing to the US, with chief executive Brendan Horgan. Saying “I would rather focus on growing the business.”
