Rachel Reeves’ plan to revive London stock market derailed by US tariffs
THE Chancellor’s bid to revive London’s stock market by luring listings and getting pension funds to invest in British shares has been derailed by US tariffs.
Recent market turmoil has made investors nervous about the exposure of pension pots to shares — after £250billion was wiped off the London stock market since President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day”.
Rachel Reeves yesterday met with senior finance bosses to discuss how to boost the economy with pensions reforms.
They included Lloyds boss Charlie Nunn, Hargraves LansdownL chief executive Dan Olley, boss of asset manager M&G Andrea Rossi and Antonio Simoes, chief executive of L&G.
The Treasury said the meeting focused on ongoing “reforms to our capital markets and our commitment to bolstering the UK’s retail investment culture”.
It has been looking at ways to shake up the pensions industry to boost the amount of assets invested in UK stocks.
But a City analyst said: “It’s not a great sell at a time when people are watching thousands being wiped off their pensions, even if by the time most people retire pension pots have switched to bonds to protect payouts.”
The Chancellor’s City meeting came as fresh figures from accounting firm EY showed the London Stock Exchange saw just five new listings in the first quarter of 2025, raising £74.7million — 74 per cent lower than 2024.
In comparison, the US had 291 flotations that raised $29.3billion (£22.9billion) in the same period.
The situation is expected to worsen as the extreme market volatility has caused a number of new stock market listings to be paused.
Fast fashion giant Shein has already spent over a year gearing up for a bumper £50billion London listing, but is now unlikely to press ahead any time soon.
SNEAKER ATTACK
THE price of trainers will be more expensive as a result of the tariff war, the chairman of JD Sports has warned.
Andy Higginson also believes the on/off tariffs on the likes of Vietnam will not prompt sportswear giants Nike and Adidas to bring factories back to the US.
“It’s an illusion that this is just about cheap labour… these countries have invested a huge amount in their tech and the manufacturing capabilities,” Mr Higginson told Radio 4.
“The likely result is that things will just be more expensive if these tariffs stay at these highs,” Higginson continued.
JD Sports makes a third of its revenues in the US, where it could face significant tariffs on Nike and Adidas trainers made in Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Yesterday, it tried to reassure investors that it still expected to make up to £982million in profits this year.
It also launched a £100million share buyback, which sent shares up by 13 per cent.
A BLOT ON PAGE
STAFF at recruitment giant Pagegroup will be looking for new jobs after the company made more cutbacks due to a “challenging market”.
The recruiter wants to cut £15million in costs and is axing a number of senior managers.
The business has already laid off 500 employees in the past year to reduce its headcount of fee-earning consultants to 5,296.
Chief executive Nicholas Kirk reported PageGroup profits of £194.2million — down 13 per cent on the final quarter of last year.
£1.6BN DOC DEAL
THE owner of hundreds of doctor’s surgeries and healthcare centres yesterday agreed to a £1.6billion private equity takeover.
Assura recommended a 49.4p-a-share bid from KKR and infrastructure firm Stonepeak Partners after rejecting a lower £1.5billion cash and shares bid from rival Primary Health Partners.
Russ Mould, analyst at AJ Bell, said: “Primary will have to dig deeper if it wants to get in ahead of KKR.”
Assura shares rose by 5.09 per cent yesterday to 47.5p.
UNILEVER FIGHT ON CEO’S PAY
THE maker of Dove soap and Marmite is facing an investor showdown over its CEO’s bumper pay package.
Unilever is handing its new boss, Fernando Fernandez, a £1.5million base rate.
But The Sun revealed last month that it was also giving the Argentine an eyewatering £763,000 in relocation benefits and up to £9million in bonuses.
The bumper pay package comes despite investor proxy firms raising concerns about Unilever’s high executive pay.
Institutional Shareholder Services, which recommends how investors vote, is telling them to reject the remuneration report at Unilever’s annual meeting later this month.
Its report states: “The company does not appear to have sufficiently accounted for previously raised shareholder concerns on the CEO role’s pay arrangement when setting Mr Fernandez’s remuneration.”
IT’S SUPPLY COLLAPSE FRAGILE LOGISTICS…
FEARS about supply chain shortages have hit a record high amongst logistics firms in the wake of US tariffs, according to an industry poll.
Cost pressures and inflation concerns were also up steeply in the survey of 65,000 firms from 160 countries by the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.
It recorded a 4.91 out of 7 score for anxiety over supply chain shortages – the highest it has ever recorded.
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