Building materials group CRH, former parent company of Farrans in Belfast, has revealed plans to delist entirely from the London Stock Exchange.
It comes two-and-a-half years after it switched its main listing to New York in yet another knock to the UK markets.
The Dublin-based group said that as part of a review of its London Stock Exchange (LSE) listings launched last month, it has “carefully considered, among other factors, the level of trading activity for its ordinary shares on the LSE as well as the additional cost, regulatory and administrative obligations arising from retaining the LSE listings”.
It said it was “satisfied that it is in the best interests of CRH and its shareholders” to delist from the LSE, and cancel its preference share listing on the London market, with the latter set to be voted on by investors at its annual general meeting in May.
CRH previous owned the Farrans building and civil engineering contractor operation in Belfast, which it sold to John Sisk & Son in Dublin last September in a multi-million pound deal.
It marks a further blow for the London market after a raft of companies have ditched their primary listings in the UK, including Paddy Power owner Flutter, mining group BHP and construction rental firm Ashtead, while a growing number of British firms have also been bought out by foreign rivals or taken private.
CRH – the world’s largest construction materials firm – said it is set to delist from the LSE on Monday April 20, with Friday April 17 marking the last trading day on the London market.
CRH switched its main listing to the New York Stock Exchange in September 2023, saying at the time a US listing “would bring increased commercial, operational and acquisition opportunities” for the firm, while it added that around three-quarters of CRH’s earnings came from North America.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Having already shifted its primary listing to the US, building materials specialist CRH is to now turn its back completely on London.
“The development, though not seismic, is another sign of London’s diminished status in the roster of global markets.
“Companies who switch their main listing to the US often pledge to keep a presence in London, but CRH’s actions suggest that is no longer a given.”