Oxford Cannabinoid Technologies has announced plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange, in another blow for the embattled bourse.
The biopharma firm, which makes painkillers using cannabis, said continued “turbulence” in UK public markets had a “punitive effect on sentiment in biopharma as a sector, and on quoted biopharma businesses in particular.”
“This has constrained the company’s ability to sustain a sensible valuation in a manner that reflects its record of scientific and clinical achievements, its growing pipeline of innovations and valuable portfolio of proprietary assets,” it said in a statement.
The firm’s top brass believe its current market cap does not reflect the value of its current pipeline of four drug development programmes, or the value of its portfolio of nearly five hundred cannabinoid derivatives.
It holds around 1m ordinary shares in issue London’s Main Market and the market cap, at the bid price of 0.35p, was approximately £3.8m. However, a recent report by Edison on OCT valued the firm in excess of £27m.
The company, which first listed in May 2021, said there had been “significant changes” to the UK’s equity markets since its debut, most noteably a decrease in liquidity and access to capital, as well as institutional interest in the biopharma growth sector.
“The considerable cost, management time and the legal and regulatory burden associated with maintaining the company’s admission to trading on the main market are now disproportionate to the benefits to the company,” it said.
The cancellation will take effect at 8am on 6 June 2024. As a standard listed company, it is not required to obtain shareholder approval for the decision.
The news is yet another blow to the UK capital, which many consider to be in crisis since the cybersecurity firm Darktrace announced its intention to depart for the US in April.
Flutter is already set for a move to New York by the end of the year, while a number of senior Shell execs have said in recent weeks they are valued lower here than they would be overseas.