One of Britain’s biggest fintech companies Wise is to switch its primary share listing from London to America in a huge blow for the City.
The Shoreditch based money transfer giant said that after a review of its listing arrangements “we intend to transfer our primary listing from the equity shares (transition) category on the London Stock Exchange to a US stock exchange, and to maintain a secondary listing on the LSE.”
This would allow Wise to “expand the pool of investors able to invest in Wise, in particular US domestic institutional and retail investors, the largest global constituent of investors, many of whom are currently unable to hold our shares.”
The move would also increase trading liquidity and provide “a potential pathway to inclusion in major US indices, further enhancing liquidity and demand for Wise shares. “
A further benefit would be an enhanced profile “among potential customers, including for Wise Platform 一 the US is home to over 4,000 banks, including several of the world's largest.”
However Wise insisted: “ Our confidence in UK talent and the tech ecosystem here remains undimmed. One-fifth of our employees are based in the UK and we plan to continue hiring and investing in our UK team to fuel our growth in the UK and abroad.”
Nevertheless is an undeniable blow to the prestige of London as a global fintech centre.
Wise was formerly known as TransferWise and became the largest tech listing in the UK when it was valued at almost £9 billion after its 2021 stock market debut. It is now valued at more than £11 billion.
The listing was viewed as a symbolic win for the UK., as former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government was looking to encourage more global tech companies to choose London as their IPO destination.
Kristo Käärmann, Co-founder and CEO of Wise said: “We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our Owners.
“These include helping us drive greater awareness of Wise in the US, the biggest market opportunity in the world for our products today, and enabling better access to the world's deepest and most liquid capital market.
“A dual listing would also enable us to continue serving our UK-based Owners effectively, as part of our ongoing commitment to the UK. The UK is home to some of the best talent in the world in financial services and technology, and we will continue to invest in our presence here to fuel our UK and global growth."
