Food delivery group Just Eat Takeaway has joined the growing ranks of major companies abandoning a listing on the London stock exchange.
The former FTSE 100 company, known for its orange liveried riders, said it has asked for its listing on the main market to be cancelled because of the administrative burden and costs involved and lack of liquidity. The shares will stop being traded in London on Christmas Eve after a 20 working day notice period.
The Danish headquartered company has its main share listing in Amsterdam and only a secondary listing in the City. Nevertheless the departure of another household name company will add to concerns that London's status as Europe’s pre-eminent financial centre is under threat.
In a statement Just Eat said it had been reviewing its listing venues since 2022 and as part of this review, it has “considered, amongst other things, the liquidity and trading volumes, as well as cost and administrative requirements related to its primary listing in Amsterdam and secondary listing in London.”
“Following this review, the company hereby gives notice that, in order to reduce the administrative burden, complexity and costs associated with the disclosure and regulatory requirements of maintaining the LSE listing, and in the context of low liquidity and trading volumes of the shares on the LSE, it has requested that the FCA cancel the listing of the Shares on the equity shares international commercial companies secondary listing category of the Official List of the FCA, and the LSE cancel the admission to trading of the shares on the main market for listed securities of the LSE.”
The company, which was founded in 2001, had its HQ in the UK from 2006 to 2022 when Just Eat merged with Takeaway.com. It was removed from the FTSE 100 in 2021 and in 2022, it scrapped its listing in the US and stuck to its dual listing in London and Amsterdam. Just Eat’s share price is down 84 per cent since February 2020.
In a statement the company said: "As we deliver our strategy to accelerate growth, we have been looking at enhancing efficiencies and made the decision to delist from our secondary listing venue on the London Stock Exchange. The majority of our trading volumes happen at our primary listing venue on the Euronext Amsterdam.
“The UK continues to be a key market for us, home to many of our talented colleagues and our ever-expanding range of grocery and restaurant partnerships. With our network now covering 97 per cent of the UK population, we remain committed to continuing our investment and cementing our leadership position in the country.”
