The boss of Britain’s most valuable company, Astrazeneca, has reportedly voiced his preference to move the firm’s stock market listing to the United States.
Sir Pascal Soriot, who has been at the helm of the pharma juggernaut since 2012, is said to have spoken privately about his desire to abandon the UK listing in favour of the US.
It’s thought board members, along with the UK government, would be expected to push back against such a move due to the firm’s standing in the market.
Soriot’s wishes, as revealed by The Times, would mark a crushing blow to the London Stock Exchange due to the firm’s £160bn market cap – the highest on the market.
The FTSE 100 chief has been vocal about Europe falling behind peers US and China on new medicine innovation.
Soriot denied a rift with the Labour government earlier this year after abandoning plans for a £450m vaccine factory amid questions over the “timing and reduction of the final offer” of support from the government.
Astrazeneca declined to comment to City AM.
Astrazeneca threatens a fatal blow
The loss of Astrazeneca would raise drastic questions about the stability and health of the London market.
In 2024, the LSE suffered its biggest exodus in 15 years as 88 firms ditched or transferred their primary listing. This included Paddy Power owner Flutter and tech darling Darktrace.
The woes have continued into 2025 with a combination of takeovers and delistings leading to a struggling market.
UK fintech Wise dealt a blow to the London market after transferring its primary listing to the US. Meanwhile, last month three billion-pound swoops resulted in foreign giants snapping up London-listed assets.
In a bid to boost investment in UK assets and crowd in further liquidity to maintain listings, London Stock Exchange chief Julia Hoggett has suggested a new “Tell Sid” advertising campaign.
But this has faced criticism from LSEG’s former boss Xavier Rolet, who blasted stewards of UK capital markets for focusing on “gimmicks and quick headline-grabbing fixes” to liquidity levels.