Fears for the future of the London stock market are mounting after SoftBank and the world’s largest building materials group shunned the City in favour of New York.
SoftBank this week rejected a London listing for Cambridge-based chip designer Arm despite an intense lobbying effort from three successive prime ministers, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.
The decision to concentrate instead on a single New York listing will be a personal blow for prime minister Rishi Sunak, who held a meeting with SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son and Arm chief executive Rene Haas before Christmas to lay out the benefits of listing in London.