London’s stock exchange is to lose another high-profile company after shareholders in the Paddy Power owner Flutter backed a proposal to move its primary listing to New York.
Investors at its annual meeting on Wednesday voted 98% in favour of the gambling company, formerly known as Paddy Power Betfair, making the switch, which it expected to become effective by the end of May.
Flutter announced in January that it would be letting shareholders vote on making New York its primary listing.
Flutter is the latest in a growing list of public companies moving their primary listing from London, weakening the capital’s standing as an international financial centre.
Earlier this year, shareholders at the Anglo-German travel company Tui voted to abandon the London Stock Exchange in favour of listing its shares solely in Germany. This came after the building materials company CRH last year shifted its main stock market listing to the US.
The drug company Indivior also announced earlier this week that it was getting shareholders to vote on a plan to move its primary listing to New York, while the Telegraph has reported that Ocado is under pressure from shareholders to abandon London for New York.
An increasing number of companies are moving away from London listings in favour of the US, where valuations and executive pay can be higher.
Last month, Wael Sawan, the chief executive of Shell, said the oil company was undervalued compared with peers in the US, adding that it was looking at “all options” if the valuation gap did not close, including a switch to New York.
Flutter’s vote comes as the group, which also owns Sky Bet PokerStars, and FanDuel in the US, is forecast to generate almost 40% of its revenues from the US market this year, becoming the largest market by revenue for the company.
Flutter’s move to listing in the US was first mooted in February 2023 after it consulted shareholders over plans to gain a secondary listing in New York, as part of its wider growth plans in the country.
Much of this growth has been bolstered by the rapid growth in popularity of FanDuel, which has become one of the country’s biggest online betting and fantasy sports platforms, after the loosening of online betting restrictions in the US in recent years. Sales in the country have risen from 10% of revenues five years ago, to 40% last year.
Speaking before the US listing in January, the company called the New York stock exchange its “natural home”.
