M&A Pick-Up to Drive More UK Stock Market Exits, Peel Hunt Says

London’s stock market has languished as companies depart for New York’s deeper pools of investor cash and technology center. The number of listing may fall further in 2024 as takeover activity swells and new share listings languish, brokerage Peel Hunt said in a recent report.

To be sure, London is not alone in seeing a decline publicly-traded companies. The number of firms listed in the US peaked in the mid-1990s at nearly 6,000, but had halved by October 2021, according to a report from McKinsey & Co.

Still, other data points further demonstrate the recent woes of London’s market. The UK’s market value in dollar terms has dropped 14% over the past decade, while Paris has overtaken London as Europe’s biggest bourse. Meanwhile, Amsterdam’s exchange is where most money now changes hands, among European stock venues.

London Stock Exchange Group Plc did not respond to a request for comment.