Three UK-Listed Firms Draw £4.676 Billion in Bids as London Market Loses £285 Billion
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 16
Three UK-Listed Firms Draw £4.676 Billion in Bids as London Market Loses £285 Billion
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 16
Summary
Rotork, Gooch & Housego and Ramsdens agreed takeover bids worth a combined £4.676 billion on Thursday, with offer premiums of 73%, 41% and 49% to pre-bid share prices.
Those deals add to a broader drain from London: since the start of 2023, 154 bids for UK companies worth more than £100 million have removed £165 billion of market value.
Another £120 billion has left through seven companies shifting primary listings away from London, while only 11 new £100 million-plus listings have arrived, bringing in just £6 billion.
The imbalance reflects cheap UK valuations, pressure on boards to sell and deeper liquidity in New York, especially for companies below £10 billion.
Peel Hunt and Andy Haldane argue only bigger policy shifts—especially steering more pension capital into UK equities—are likely to slow the market's hollowing-out.