Europe’s stock exchanges need to turn launches for initial public offerings into a glitzy day out if they want to compete with New York for listings.
That’s the view of Euronext London’s chief executive Simon Gallagher, who says European stock trading debuts lack the fanfare and “razzmatazz” of US listings.
“The Americans are so good at this,” Gallagher said in an interview on the sidelines of the FIX EMEA Trading Conference in London. “This unique point in time in the life of a company when they go up and they ring that bell.”
Gallagher’s comments come in the wake of several high-profile European firms choosing to list in the US capital rather than at home. British chipmaker ARM Holdings Plc went public in New York last year, while Irish building group CRH Plc switched its primary listing there from London and scrapped its Dublin shares.
Euronext London serves UK-based clients of Euronext NV’s sprawling stock exchange network. Gallagher suggested press coverage of London IPOs should be done at the old Royal Exchange building near the Bank of England, which is now home to shops and restaurants, while Paris could use the Palais Brongniart.
“In New York there’s these massive symbols of capitalism — you’re outside the pillars of Wall Street — it’s on films,” he said. “You come to Europe and it’s a far less visually-appealing experience, and the whole sensorial aspect of it is kind of missing.”
“From my experience, from companies I speak to, it matters — especially for those who have founded the firm, when they’re looking to take their families and their co-founders with them on on a journey,” he said.
Companies only raised about $14 billion via IPOs on European exchanges last year, a 36% drop from the almost $22 billion raised in 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Others have been abandoning the region, such as agricultural machinery group CNH Industrial NV, which delisted from Milan to leave New York as its primary listing.
Management of companies that list in London are typically photographed on the balcony inside the London Stock Exchange Group Plc’s Paternoster Square office, with the market open live-streamed on LinkedIn. Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc’s high-profile IPO in 2018 featured sports cars scattered around the square.
Bloomberg News has contacted the London Stock Exchange Group for comment. London is also Euronext’s base for some other asset classes such as foreign exchange.
