Dow Jones – Excessive-tech British corporations eye U.S. listings in blow to post-Brexit London stock market

Immunocore, which has raised a complete of $873.2 million since its inception, has joined with prescription drugs AstraZeneca
(AZN),
+0.92%,
GlaxoSmithKline
GSOk,
-0.96%,
and Eli Lilly and Firm
LLY,
+2.19%,
amongst others, on its most cancers medication, in addition to the Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis.

It follows Blue Prism
PRSM,
-3.86%,
a London-listed software program firm specializing in robotic course of automation, which first indicated in November 2020 that it had begun exploring an inventory within the U.S. The group’s board of administrators reiterated in a full-year buying and selling replace on Jan. 14 that they had been exploring a secondary itemizing exterior of London. The corporate is at the moment listed on London’s junior AIM stock market.

In a report in The Occasions on Monday, Blue Prism Chief Government Jason Kingdon mentioned that the corporate was taking a look at itemizing within the U.S. as a result of Individuals value subscription software program firms extra extremely than British buyers, who, he mentioned, don’t have the identical data of the sector.

Kingdon additionally mentioned the London market was “too illiquid and too small.”

Blue Prism noticed its stock slide 5% in London buying and selling on Monday. The corporate notched its fifth yr of consecutive income progress within the 12 months to the top of October 2020, and decreased its working loss from the yr prior by round £10 million ($13.6 million), to £81.6 million.

Learn extra: Britain and EU headed for monetary providers showdown

These two high-tech British firms are eyeing U.S. markets as the worldwide position of the London Stock Change is altering within the wake of the UK.’s exit from the European Union.

Following the top of the Brexit transition interval on Jan. 1, round $eight billion a day worth of European share buying and selling largely moved from London to continental exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam.

Monetary providers weren’t lined by the post-Brexit commerce deal agreed upon by the UK. and EU, and London finance professionals quoted by Monetary Information have mentioned they don’t anticipate an settlement on monetary providers to be struck for a number of years.

Plus: UK. and European Union agree on historic post-Brexit commerce deal

And this important studying: A Brexit Commerce Deal Has Lastly Been Struck. Right here’s What It Means for Markets and Buyers.

Immunocore and Blue Prism aren’t the one high-tech British firms trying exterior of London.

London-listed meals supply big Simply Eat Takeaway
JET,
-0.74%
mentioned on Jan. 12 that it was pausing its resolution to listing solely in London.

After the merger of Danish Simply Eat and Dutch Takeaway.com in early 2020, the mixed firm had deliberate to delist its shares in Amsterdam in late February 2021 in favor of a London-only itemizing.

Nonetheless, with the group’s deliberate takeover of a U.S. peer, Grubhub, anticipated to finish in mid-2021, Simply Eat Takeaway has modified its tune.

The corporate mentioned it “will consider, among other things, liquidity and trading volumes across the listings it will have in Amsterdam, London and New York, which will take time to find a natural home following a material acquisition such as Grubhub.”

It isn’t all unhealthy information for London. Meals supply firm Deliveroo is making ready for a London itemizing in what might be the UK.’s largest IPO in two years. The corporate mentioned on Sunday it accomplished a brand new fundraising spherical, valuing the enterprise at greater than $7 billion.

On-line greetings-card retailer Moonpig set out plans final week to drift in London, in a transfer that would value it at round $1.four billion. Simply hours earlier, Dr. Martens confirmed it was looking for an IPO in London, which analysts mentioned value the long-lasting shoe-and-boot-maker at round $four billion.