LONDON’S stock market was dealt a further blow yesterday as CRH announced it was switching its listing to New York.
The world’s biggest building materials group said that it wanted to cement its links to the US, where it now makes almost three-quarters of its profits.
London’s stock market was dealt a bruising blow as CRH revealed plans to switch its listing to New York
However, the move is bruising for the City of London, which has had one of the quietest starts to the year for listings since the aftermath of the financial crisis of the mid-2000s.
Russ Mould at AJ Bell suggested CRH could be the start of an exodus.
He said: “That’s not a good look for the London Stock Exchange.”
Investment bankers have said businesses are scathing about their chances of going public in London, particularly after so many recently floated companies have tanked since listing.
Investors who backed the rash of online firms that flooded the London Stock Exchange in 2021 have lost £10billion so far.
The Government is pushing to overhaul rules — known as Edinburgh Reforms — to boost London as a global financial centre. But no large company has yet taken the plunge to list here.
PM Rishi Sunak personally met the boss of tech firm ARM to try to tempt it to London — but it has reportedly opted for New York.
Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment and Shell are considering switching too, according to the Financial Times.
LSE boss David Schwimmer yesterday insisted the shift to the US was “not about the Stock Exchange”.
He told Sky News that UK pension funds had switched to bonds over the past 20 years, rather than equities, meaning there was not as much investor support for new listings as in the US.
FROM BUD TO WORSE
THE world’s biggest brewer AB InBev has suffered its first slump in beer sales since the start of Covid.
The maker of Stella Artois and Corona said on Thursday that sales volumes fell 0.6 per cent in the last quarter of 2022.
AB InBev has suffered its first slump in beer sales since the start of Covid
The blip was even more disappointing for the Belgium-based brewer as beermakers usually expect a big World Cup boost.
Its Budweiser brand was an official sponsor of the Qatar contest.
But its hoped-for sales bonanza was blighted when the Muslim host nation imposed a stadium booze ban just before the tournament started — leaving stacks of its beer in warehouses.
However, the brewer benefited in Europe from a surge in sales of pricier pints as hospitality venues recovered after lockdowns.
ITV FACES TRIALS OF AD SPEND
ITV reckons advertising spend will fall by 11 per cent this year as big brands keep a tight rein on their budgets amid a potential recession.
But the broadcaster behind hits like I’m A Celebrity said companies are much more optimistic since the start of the year compared to last Autumn, when big brands were making decisions in the face of the mini Budget market meltdown.
ITV reckons advertising spend will fall by 11 per cent this year
Boss Dame Carolyn McCall said: “Advertising is linked to GDP in the UK.
“Businesses are big on protecting profits wherever they can. So there is caution while there is optimism.”
ITV said Love Island was getting nearly three million viewers a night but more people were watching on its new ITVX streaming platform as it meant they could “catch up late”.
The broadcaster revealed sales rose by seven per cent to £4.3billion last year while adjusted earnings fell by 12 per cent to £717million.
UK’S STRONGER ECONOMY HOPE
THE UK economy is proving more resilient than expected, the Bank of England has said.
The boost from its chief economist Huw Pill came after governor Andrew Bailey cautioned against betting that the Bank had stopped increasing interest rates.
Mr Pill said: “The current momentum in economic activity may be slightly stronger than anticipated”.
He added that higher wages could mean customers will have to pay higher prices and inflation could last longer.
This could lead to rates rising as the Bank tries to bring inflation down.
