UK warned it may become a launchpad for start-ups that later flee abroad

The Capital Markets Industry Taskforce, chaired by LSE chief Dame Julia Hoggett, submitted a warning to Chancellor John Healey that the United Kingdom faces a strategic growth problem due to a dearth of new listings on the London Stock Exchange. The taskforce argues that without policy changes, Britain could become an "incubator nation," nurturing start-ups only to see them relocate to markets like the United States. Recommendations include removing stamp duty on shares for pension funds and ISAs, providing inheritance-tax relief for long-term pension investments, and introducing a 10% dividend tax credit to mobilise up to £125bn in equity by 2042, at a cost of up to £742m per year.

The briefing highlighted the £24bn sale of Cambridge-based Arm Holdings to SoftBank and the collapse of a planned £7bn Boots IPO as evidence of a weakening IPO pipeline. City leaders also noted recent takeovers of listed firms such as Beazley, Schroders and Segro, underscoring the broader concern about the decline of London’s stock market.