Companies worth about £100 billion are on the way out of the London Stock Exchange so far this year, either by being bought up or via moving the main home for their shares overseas, and experts fear there is much more to come.
Research by the Evening Standard and investment bank Peel Hunt shows that companies worth over £26 billion have already agreed to be sold in 2024, to other listed firms or private equity. Alongside, there's a total combined value of £38 billion for companies relocating their primary listing overseas. Anglo-American turned down the largest takeover bid yet, dismissing BHP's £31 billion offer as "undervalued" and "opportunistic."
Incorporating the current headline figure from this deal brings the total market capital involved in the exodus to £95 billion. 40,000 companies near collapse, most vulnerable sectors identified. More than half a million UK companies are in “significant” financial distress, and more than 40,000 in “critical” distress, according to insolvency experts Begbies Traynor’s latest “red flags” report.
The report found that 554,554 companies were in distress, up more than 30% from last year, and up a little from the fourth quarter of last year. The count of firms classified as being in "critical" distress was marginally lower than at the close of the previous year, but still historically high, standing at 40,174.
Elevated interest rates have posed challenges for businesses, making borrowing more difficult, while consumer sentiment continues to falter. Additionally, certain sectors have encountered recruitment difficulties.
