LSE chief Dame Julia Hoggett urges UK to stem listings exodus

Hoggett wants 0.5% UK share tax scrapped, domestic credits restored

The head of the London Stock Exchange has called on the UK government to act to keep companies listing at home, warning that “scores” of big firms have left, are considering leaving or have been bought by private foreign investors in recent years.

Dame Julia Hoggett, who leads the LSE, told the BBC’s Big Boss podcast that Britain must “take the handbrake off” to make London a more attractive venue for share listings. She said structural incentives were needed so that “Britain backs Britain,” a phrase she attributed to recent rhetoric from the chancellor and prime minister.

“We need to stop throwing shade at ourselves as a nation … it’s a national habit,” Hoggett said, arguing that negative sentiment about UK markets was “often exaggerated.” There was, she added, “no shortage of great companies and no shortage of capital.”

The LSE’s main market comprises around 930 companies with a total market value of about £4.9 trillion, almost 40% of which are international businesses from over 80 countries, she said. Recent departures include Just Eat, which moved to the Amsterdam stock exchange; travel group Tui, which opted for Frankfurt; and Flutter, the owner of Paddy Power, which now trades in New York.

New listings in London have dwindled. Last year there were 23 initial public offerings on the London market, raising £2.1bn, compared with 354 in the United States, where $44bn (£33bn) was raised. The shift has coincided with a rise in UK investment money moving into US stocks in search of better returns.

“We talk as a nation about wanting growth in every postcode, but at the moment, a lot of us are funding growth in every zip code,” Hoggett said.

Among her specific policy proposals, Hoggett wants the government to scrap the 0.5% tax Britons pay when they purchase UK shares — a levy that does not apply when they buy foreign stocks. She also supports restoring tax credits for Britons investing domestically, a scheme that existed until 2016.

The Confederation of British Industry has called for urgent action to halt the exodus, saying lighter regulation, better marketing and incentives for investors were needed to stem the outflow. The UK government declined to say whether stock-market reform would form part of its Budget this month.

“As has always been the case, decisions on tax are a matter for the chancellor to set out at fiscal events, rather than routinely commenting on rumour, speculation or proposals,” a government spokesman said.