Political turmoil in France and geopolitical tensions between China and the US are showcasing the UK’s status as an “independent financial centre” and destination for international IPOs, a leading capital markets figure has suggested.
Mark Austin, a lawyer at Latham & Watkins who has masterminded many of the City’s reform efforts over the past two years, said he is “seeing a lot of inquiries” from companies who are questioning whether Continental Europe is a “place where I would want to list a business right now”.
“The same has been happening in Asia,” Austin told the BBC’s Today programme. “There was a company that listed in August, CK Infrastructure, two weeks after the FCA’s [listings] rules changed because they didn’t want sole exposure to Asia.
“There is a sense that the UK is starting to establish itself as an independent financial centre, well-regulated, good time zone and it is not Asia, it’s not the EU and it’s not the US.”
The comments echo a memo that Austin has been circulating to the Treasury, FCA and members of the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce – a group of City grandees headed by London Stock Exchange boss, Julia Hoggett.
In the note, exclusively revealed by City AM last week, Austin wrote that the City was beginning to appear as “the adult in the corner of the room” amid turmoil on the continent.
“The positive narrative is working on the ground with both issuers and investors when you talk to them about listing venue – the pipeline is large and growing,” Austin wrote.
Questions are hanging over the stability of French markets as the governments face potential collapse due to backlash to controversial budget measures.
CMIT, which also includes Phoenix chief executive, Sir Nicholas Lyons, and GSK chair, Sir Jonathan Symonds, has banged the drum for public markets reform in the capital over the past two years.
The group has lobbied the government to ease pension rules and encourage more domestic capital into the market, as well as pushing for a more slimmed down rulebook for companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
In July, the Financial Conduct Authority overhauled its listing regulation in what the watchdog called the biggest shake-up in three decades. The Cambridge chipmaker, Arm, had blamed the rules in part for its decision to snub London in favour of New York last year.
Austin added that the UK will benefit from relative “political stability for at least the next five years” compared to European markets, pointing to the election of right-wing leaders in the Netherlands and Italy and a populist surge in France, Germany and Austria.