Just Eat Takeaway will delist from the London Stock Exchange next month, in a move it said would cut costs and complexity.
The business said the decision will “reduce the administrative burden, complexity and costs associated with the disclosure and regulatory requirements” of a listing in both London and Amsterdam.
It will now focus on its primary listing in Amsterdam, where the majority of trading volumes take place.
In 2022, Just Eat delisted from the US Nasdaq owing to low trading volumes and the low proportion of its total share capital.
The move is being seen by some as a blow to the UK government, which launched “the biggest set of reforms to listing rules in over 30 years” earlier this year to try and reinvigorate the country’s capital markets.
The changes were meant to make the London Stock Exchange more attractive, drive up the number of flotations, and stop the flow of companies leaving the market.
But while several companies have ditched their UK listing already this year, Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said it was too early to make a judgement, as it can take six months to prepare for an IPO.
“The listing changes were never going to result in lots of companies with secondary listings in London upgrading to a primary listing, so Just Eat’s impending departure is not a black mark on the LSE’s record,” he said.
The new rules could ultimately benefit several major food companies through a new listing category that will qualify them for major indices. Deliveroo, for example, has switched from a second-class listing under the old system to the new ‘ESCC’ listing, making it likely to join the FTSE 250 at next month’s quarterly index reshuffle.
Deliveroo, among others, did not qualify for the FTSE indices under the old rules because it had chosen a tier-two category for reasons such as looser regulation.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is also expected to join the FTSE 100 at the March 2025 reshuffle.
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