The chief executive of stock trading app Plus500 said that the attitude of New York investors compared with London has made the company consider a US listing.
Plus500 CEO David Zruia that investors in London view the business as a finance company and not a tech firm, which could mean Plus500 is being undervalued in the UK. The Israel-based company floated in London a decade ago.
“The main point here is that we are a technology firm but we are not valued as a tech firm. We are valued as a financial services firm which is not really accurate. In the US we can see tech companies getting much better valuations,” Zruia told the Evening Standard.
“We estimate that the valuation would be higher within US exchanges…It’s something we’ll consider when market conditions are better.”
It was reported in May that the FTSE 250 company was considering a dual listing in London and New York. The firm’s CEO has now confirmed that the US is strongly being considered as it posted half-year revenues of $368.5m, up 15% on the year-ago period.
New York calling
The London markets have been fighting to stay competitive with the US as tech companies continue to view New York as a more attractive option.
The city this year lost out on the IPO of semiconductor designer Arm, which is instead preparing for a Nasdaq listing at a valuation of more than £50bn in autumn.
More recently, British political polling company YouGov threatened to move its listing to the US, with co-founder Stephan Shakespeare telling the Financial Times “I think the markets are better at supporting companies like ours there”.
Reforms to London’s listing requirements are being considered to encourage more activity, including a proposal from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to “reduce the regulatory burden on companies”.
The proposals were met with a backlash from major pension schemes in the UK, which argued that reducing regulatory requirements would damage the city’s reputation and “roll back fundamental investor protections”.