# London Stock Exchange pours cold water on merging listing segments
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2022-06-16
Category: NEWS
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news
Meta Title: Risk to London Stock Exchange 'Gamechanger' in
Meta Description: London Stock Exchange official Julia Hoggett cautions against merging listing segments, citing potential risk to 'gamechanging' companies.
URL: https://financedigest.com/london-stock-exchange-pours-cold-water-on-merging-listing-segmentshtml

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By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) – Compressing Britain’s two company listing segments to attract more tech firms could put an existing “gamechanger” at risk, a top London Stock Exchange official said on Thursday.

Britain wants to use its post-Brexit flexibility in financial rulemaking to compete better with New York in company listings, and is trying to persuade chip designer Arm to list in London rather than on Wall Street.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has already [eased some listing rules](https://www.financedigest.com/britain-plans-new-data-rules-to-ease-compliance-burden.html "Britain plans new data rules to ease compliance burden") and has proposed going further by merging the standard and more demanding premium listing categories.

The standard listing is the only equity listing market that is growing currently and therefore it is clearly meeting the needs of a number of [companies,](https://www.financedigest.com/cybercrime-and-sabotage-cost-german-firms-300-billion-in-past-year.html) which we think of as gamechanging,” Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the [London Stock](https://www.financedigest.com/oil-stocks-thrust-london-shares-to-positive-2023-start.html "Oil stocks thrust London shares to positive 2023 start") Exchange in the UK, told a City & Financial event.

The existing standard listing regime has struck the right balance in providing flexibility to some of the largest tech companies while [protecting investors](https://www.financedigest.com/brexit-why-investors-must-now-think-global-to-maximise-and-protect-wealth.html "BREXIT: WHY INVESTORS MUST NOW ‘THINK GLOBAL’ TO MAXIMISE AND PROTECT WEALTH"), Hoggett said.

Clare Cole, FCA director for market oversight, said that having a single segment would [cut costs](https://www.financedigest.com/gms-cruise-to-focus-on-cost-cuts-as-it-ramps-up-robotaxis.html "GM’s Cruise to focus on cost cuts as it ramps up robotaxis") and make it easier for investors to compare companies.

Hoggett said bold action, not incrementalism, was [needed to improve](https://www.financedigest.com/what-banks-need-to-do-right-now-to-improve-their-digital-services-without-sacrificing-security.html "What Banks Need to Do Right Now to Improve Their Digital Services Without Sacrificing Security ") London’s attraction for private and public companies.

“Are we genuinely creating the best possible environment where great companies can start here? Arguably no,” Hoggett said.

Tom Duggan, deputy director for securities markets at [Britain’s finance](https://www.financedigest.com/explainer-how-britain-is-exploiting-brexit-to-reform-finance.html "Explainer-How Britain is exploiting Brexit to reform finance?") ministry, agreed that more needed to be done, adding that the government would create simpler prospectuses for companies to list.

But a favourable tax regime and ability to [hire talent](https://www.financedigest.com/5-steps-hiring-top-talent-youre-just-start.html "5 steps to hiring top talent when you’re just a start-up ") from across the world were also key to attracting listings to [London,](https://www.financedigest.com/london-listed-spac-moves-closer-to-launch-of-lloyds-insurance-vehicle.html) said Conor Lawlor, managing director for capital markets at UK Finance, a banking industry body.

“This appetite for change is finite, it won’t be around forever and we need to strike while the iron is hot,” Lawlor said.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Bernadette Baum)


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