FTSE 100 giant Ashtead, which is worth more than £24bn, is reportedly exploring switching its stock market listing from London to New York in what would be a major blow to the capital’s beleaguered bourse.
The firm, which rents out heavy machinery to the construction industry, is in the early stages of deciding whether to move its listing to the US, according to The Sunday Telegraph.
Ashtead is said to have instructed City advisers to undertake a full examination of the possible benefits of making the switch.
Ashtead is based in London but earns the bulk of its revenue across the pond. Its latest annual results showed the firm made more than 90 per cent of its turnover from sales in North America last year, rising from 80 per cent the year before.
Its growth in the UK, meanwhile, has been much slower. In March, Ashtead said it expected revenue growth of between 11 per cent and 13 per cent in the US and Canada, although its guidance for the UK was between six per cent and nine per cent.
Ashtead has also recently been a significant beneficiary of Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which has made almost $370bn (£291bn) in tax breaks and subsidies available for green energy projects.
A company spokesperson said: “Ashtead reviews its capital structure regularly, including its domicile, recognising the fact that 90 per cent of its business is in the USA”.
The news comes after the London Stock Exchange has been battered by a wave of firms ditching their listings in the capital for better returns overseas, where New York offers higher valuations and a deeper pool of capital compared to London.
Companies that have left for the US or sought a secondary listing there include betting giant Flutter, Irish building materials firm CRH and plumbing business Ferguson.