The London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) is reportedly considering launching 24-hour trading, amid pressure to make the UK market more competitive and attractive to investors.
LSEG, which operates Britain’s main stock market, is looking into the practicalities of increasing its trading hours, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
One person told the newspaper that the group is “absolutely looking at it, whether it means 24-hour trading or extended trading”, adding that it was “having important commercial, policy and regulatory discussions” about the topic.
Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin already trade around the clock and more people trade shares after hours on platforms such as Robinhood. However, shares listed in London only trade between 8am and 4.30pm.
LSEG is considering various aspects of extending trading hours, such as technology required to implement the change, regulatory hurdles, the effects on companies with dual listings and the possible impact on liquidity, the FT reported.
Other stock exchanges around the world are looking for ways to extend their trading hours. Last autumn, the New York Stock Exchange asked the US financial regulator to extend its window outside its traditional 9:30am to 4pm time, to 1:30am to 11:30pm.
However, such a move could prove controversial. Some brokers have argued it could make it more difficult for clearing or guaranteeing trades, and would require significant technology and staff changes.
Extended hours could also cause problems for managers of open-ended funds, which calculate their value once a day, typically at the close of trading.
However, in the US, extended hours may prove beneficial for investors on the west coast, where markets close time at 1pm because of the time difference.
Reports that London could extend its trading hours come amid a broader effort to make the UK stock market more competitive, after a string of high-profile companies defected to New York in search of better liquidity, higher valuations and access to bigger investors.
Last month, the online payments company Wise, which has been listed in London since 2021, announced its intention to dual-list its shares in the US and the UK.
On Monday, Wise’s co-founder Taavet Hinrikus urged shareholders to vote against the dual listing, arguing the proposal was not transparent enough about changes to governance.
Skaala Investments, Hinrikus’s investment vehicle, said that the vote to change the listing location also required investors to approve extending the dual-class shareholder structure introduced when it listed in 2021. It means that enhanced voting rights for some shareholders, which were due to end in July 2026, will be extended by a further 10 years. It said this had been “buried in the proposal”.
The Wise chief executive, Kristo Käärmann, denied the claims in a blogpost on Monday. He wrote: “Our plans are set out clearly and transparently.”
Wise’s potential move follows a similar shift by the construction equipment rental company Ashtead last year. Other companies such as the gambling group Flutter Entertainment and the building materials provider CRH moved their listings entirely to the US.
It comes amid a wider government push to rethink Britain’s regulation to stimulate growth. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, said in a speech to City bosses last week that rules and red tape were acting as a “boot on the neck” of businesses and risked “choking off” innovation across the UK without bold reforms.
The London Stock Exchange Group declined to comment.
