The news follows efforts from London to earn top firms post-Brexit as it competes with major finance hubs such as New York City, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and others, with the latter surpassing London as the largest capital for trading in Europe.
UK food delivery firm Deliveroo has chosen to list its initial public offering in London, the company announced on Thursday.
The Amazon-backed firm is set to go public later in 2021 following a surge in business amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown, sparking record use of online takeaway services.
Deliveroo chief executive Will Shu will receive enhanced voting rights and greater control over the company’s direction via a dual-class structure, the company added.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequers Rishi Sunak said in a statement the UK was “one of the best places in the world to start, grow and list a business”, adding the Government vowed to build on the reputation “now we’ve left the EU”.
He added the the delivery company had created “thousands of jobs” and was a “true British tech success story”.
His comments come after Sunak revealed the Government’s massive budget plans to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and post-Brexit strategy.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted on Thursday that despite ongoing challenges, London was “still the best place in the world” to do business.
The news follows a Lord Hill review of Britain’s listing scheme backed by the UK government, which approved the dual-class shares. According to media reports, Deliveroo will receive the structure for three years.
Pricing information and a listing date for the $7.5bn IPO has not been provided. Firms backing the IPO include Durable Capital Partners, T Rowe Price, Index Ventures, General Catalyst and others, according to media reports.
The number of tech unicorns were “more than twice” as in Germany and France, he said, adding: “We expect to see more of our home-grown success stories following suit in what is just the start of a golden age for U.K. tech.”
A further £2.9bn Restart Scheme would launch in the summer to support more than £1mn unemployed people, providing subsidised jobs for at-risk young people, with 120,000 jobs created to date.
Further programmes would address gaps in skill sets due to automation and company scaling efforts, Tech Nation added.
Other firms believed to be considering London for public listing include fintech startup Wise, cybersecurity firm Darktrace and Danish review website Trustpilot, CNBC reported on Thursday.
The news follows a detailed report published in February on the nation’s trade and investment ties, marking the first time the Government has released such figures in history, according to the Department for International Trade (DIT).
Sourse: sputniknews.com
