The grass isn’t always greener

Having conducted a thorough review of its listing options, Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss commodity miner and trader, has sensibly chosen to retain its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Some of the UK press seem surprised by the choice, perhaps as the result of having placed so much focus on the few UK listed companies that have crossed the pond in the past few years.

As the CEO of LSEG, David Schwimmer, pointed out in an interview in February of this year; only 20 companies had moved their primary listing from the UK to the US in the last decade. This equates to some 1.2% of the c. 1650 companies currently listed in the UK on the Main Market and AIM.

Reports of an exodus from London to New York would, therefore, appear to be something of a media concoction. Furthermore, of the 20 companies that did move to a US listing, only four of them (20%), saw appreciation in their valuation, with most seeing a significant decline. 

What’s clear is that the grass isn’t always greener for UK companies when listing in the US. There are several reasons for this but to list just a few:

• High costs and risks: A move to the US would involve significantly increased costs, regulatory burdens, litigation risks, and increased disclosure requirements.
• Uncertainty regarding index inclusion Being one of the biggest 500 companies on the US market does not automatically qualify a company to enter the S&P 500 index. Many other factors are taken into account, including whether the company is deemed to be a US business. Redomiciling to the US still does not guarantee immediate entry. Glencore’s current $45bn valuation is more than twice that of the $20.5bn required to be one of the 500 biggest listed companies in the US but without S&P 500 inclusion many funds could be restricted from investing, severely impacting the potential valuation.
• Tax implications: Changing domicile could trigger tax consequences and force some institutional investors to divest.

As such, it seems only natural that Glencore would choose to stick to the UK. The effort and distraction alone of shifting listing would be painful enough, particularly at a time of difficulty for the business, with the company reporting yesterday that its net loss had widened from $233 million (£175.5 million) to $655 million in the six months ended 30 June 2025.

Despite what some corners of the press would have us believe, London is still one of the best stock markets in the world, and certainly one of the best for mining companies. Why would you want to go anywhere else?