The head of one of Britain’s largest insurers has decried the “perpetual drift” of companies away from London’s stock market, arguing that a low-growth economy and political infighting have eroded the UK’s appeal.
The decisions last week by CRH, the world’s largest building materials group, and UK chip designer Arm to shun London in favour of listings in New York have heightened fears over the health of the UK stock market.
“We should be worried about it. We’ve been in perpetual drift,” Sir Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal & General, told the Financial Times. “There’s a drift of the City to Europe, there is a drift of the City to the United States.”