London Stock Exchange eyes fresh listings as City regulator readies sweeping shake-up

The London Stock Exchange could be in line for two new listings by the end of this year in a boost to the bourse as it prepares for the biggest regulatory shake-up in three decades.

The French conglomerate Vivendi is said to be exploring a spin-off and listing of its Canal+ TV unit that could come as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, with the London Stock Exchange seen as the likely venue. 

CK Infrastructure, the Hong Kong based investment group, also revealed in a stock market filing yesterday it was exploring a secondary listing of its shares on the London Stock Exchange.

News of two potential listings will be a boon for London’s flagship market as the Financial Conduct Authority readies a sweeping overhaul of listing rules at the end of July that will look to ease the way the companies come to market in London.

Under the plans, first tabled by the FCA in May last year and confirmed yesterday, the two segments of the main market will be merged and requirements to consult shareholders on certain deals will be scrapped, in a move that has been described as the biggest change to the market’s regulation in over thirty years.

The changes “will ensure that companies listed in the UK can benefit from a listing regime that better supports their growth ambitions, increases investment opportunities for UK investors and supports the UK economy,” Julia Hoggett, the boss of the London Stock Exchange said after the plans were announced.

The measures have been designed to revive the City’s public markets after a dearth of fresh listings and a flood of firms to overseas markets over the past two years. Scores of firms have also been picked off by overseas investors and taken into private hands.

However, the London Stock Exchange has shown signs of life in recent months after British chipmaker Raspberry Pi pulled off a bumper float in June and fast-fashion giant Shein reportedly filed papers for an IPO.

CK Infrastructure has its primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange but said in the filings it was mulling a secondary listing of its shares on an international market.

“One of the opportunities being considered is a potential second and additional listing of the Company’s shares on an overseas stock exchange (such as the London Stock Exchange) without any fund raising,” the company said. 

While the plans would not raise fresh capital, the listing “could benefit the Company’s geographically diverse shareholder base”, building its profile and “provide a greater market for trading in the Company’s shares”, CK added in the filing.

Vivendi declined to comment on the listing plans for Canal+.