Looser bonus rules and tax breaks needed to save London stock market, says CBI
The London stock market risks “drifting into irrelevance” without government and regulatory reforms, ranging from tax breaks for stock market listings to looser bonus rules for directors, a lobbying group has said.The 20 recommendation put forward by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which lobbies on behalf of UK businesses, suggest financial incentives, marketing campaigns and boardroom pay are central to guaranteeing the future success of the London Stock Exchange, which has been losing stock market listings and floats to foreign rivals.“With domestic capital shifting away from UK equities, new listings having slowed … and high-growth firms often looking overseas to raise capital, the UK stands at a pivotal moment for the future of its public equity markets,” the CBI said.The lobbying group claims that tax breaks could persuade more companies to list their shares.By making the costs of a flotation or initial public offering (IPO) tax deductible, the government would be ensuring more cash is available for reinvestment and growth, the CBI’s Revitalising UK Public Markets report said.
“IPOs are time-consuming, costly, and uncertain,The lack of tax deductibility for IPO expenses reduces the net proceeds retained by companies and may deter listings,” it said,The London Stock Exchange was dealt another potential blow last week when it was reported that Pascal Soriot, the chief executive of AstraZeneca, had discussed shifting the stock market listing of the UK’s most valuable listed company to the US,The report also said the UK should take advantage of uncertainty in the US, where a lack of predictable policy announcements from Donald Trump has made London a more attractive home for foreign companies’ secondary listings,“Many Asian markets are growing faster than the UK but this presents an opportunity.
London can offer companies in these regions a complementary venue for additional listings, particularly at a time when any Asian companies are becoming more cautious about extra-territorial US capital markets regulation,” the report said,It comes days before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is to make her Mansion House speech and release the government’s financial services strategy, which is widely expected to suggest reforms to Isa savings rules, pension investments, and further City deregulation to increase growth and competition,However, company rules should also be reviewed if government and regulators hope to revive the London market, the CBI report recommended,That included overhauling bonus rules for nonexecutive board members, which could encourage bosses to take more risks, it said,Nonexecutive directors are barred from receiving share options or other types performance-related pay, under the UK corporate governance code.
This is to “preserve independence and objectivity”, the CBI said.However, the lobby group said restrictions around share-based bonuses “may inadvertently encourage risk-averse board cultures”..The CBI said that the report was based on feedback from chairs and leaders of more than 30 listed companies, including FTSE 100 firms, as well as big investment houses and advisers.Rupert Soames, chair of the CBI, said: “Most of the challenges facing the UK equity markets are common to other markets, including the growth of private capital, the increase in passive investment funds, and investors shifting assets to US markets.
“The opportunity now is for the UK to build on the work already done to lead the world in finding innovative solutions which will once again make London attractive to companies wishing to raise capital and list their stock, and to retail and institutional investors who wish to participate in the wealth creation owning stocks and shares provide.”
The Guide #198: Finally, Superman meets his match
As comic book movies go, the Superman reboot is a biggie. It’s the first film from DC Studios, created by Warner Bros in 2022 in an attempt finally to rival Marvel. And it marks the start of the newly rebooted DC Universe, which has seen studio heads James Gunn and Peter Safran merrily culling storylines, cancelling projects, and recasting characters (to much online frothing).So why am I struggling to care? Is it the Russian-doll rebooting? Is it franchise fatigue? No, it’s Superman! The dullest hero of them all! Too good to be interesting, too strong to be truly fallible and definitely too Boy Scouty to be funny, I’ve always found him a less exciting prospect than other supers.But Gunn, who wrote and directed the film, seems to have a plan to make Superman less of a snooze
‘The army were on the streets – and we were bored’: Stiff Little Fingers on making Alternative Ulster
‘There wasn’t time to sit down and discuss politics and the future of the world, or your aims and aspirations. You just did stuff’I was approached by Gavin Martin, who ran a fanzine called Alternative Ulster. He wanted to put a flexi-disc on the cover and said: “Can we use Suspect Device?” That was going to be Still Little Fingers’ debut single so I told him he couldn’t have that, but I would write him a song.It’s the old adage – write about what you know. The opening line is: “There’s nothin’ for us in Belfast
From Jurassic World Rebirth to Kae Tempest: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Jurassic World RebirthOut now Forget Chris Pratt and the friendly velociraptors: this reboot of the dinofranchise returns to the premise that the beasties with the big sharp teeth are not to be trusted – and this time around we’ve got some mutant dinosaurs in the mix. Human stars include Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey.The ShroudsOut now The master of body horror is back – and a new David Cronenberg film is always cause for celebration. Now in his 80s, the Canadian auteur can always be relied upon to probe the deeper and darker parts of the human psyche, and his latest exploration of grief and dystopian technology, starring Vincent Cassel, is no exception.Jane Austen 250The Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford; 6 July to 20 August It is 250 years since the birth of one of the greatest comic novelists of all time
Steve Coogan accuses Labour of paving way for Reform UK
Steve Coogan has accused Keir Starmer’s Labour government of a “derogation of all the principles they were supposed to represent” and said they were paving the way for the “racist clowns” of Reform UK.The actor, comedian and producer said the party he had long supported was now for people “inside the M25” and described the prime minister’s first year in power as underwhelming.“I knew before the election he was going to be disappointing. He hasn’t disappointed me in how disappointing he’s been,” he said.Coogan spoke to the Guardian ahead of an address to the annual Co-op Congress in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, where he called for locally led grassroots movements to assemble across Britain and take back control from “multinational institutions and billionaires”
My cultural awakening: a Marina Abramović show helped me to stop hating my abusive father
On an unseasonably warm day in October 2023, I arrived, ahead of the queues, at London’s Southbank Centre for a conceptual art takeover by the world-famous Marina Abramović Institute.I had recently read Marina’s memoir Walk Through Walls, which had resonated. So, when I’d seen the event advertised – hours-long performances by artists she’d invited, curated and introduced by Marina – I bought a £60 ticket and waited for my time slot to enter the Queen Elizabeth Hall. I hadn’t seen performance art before, and this was due to include her well-known work The Artist Is Present with an artist sitting, static and silent, in a chair all day, as Marina once did for an accumulated 736 hours and 30 minutes at the Museum of Modern Art. I felt certain that it would affect me, I just wasn’t sure how
Rodney Wilson obituary
My husband, Rodney Wilson, who has died aged 82, was a widely admired producer of innovative arts television programmes. His leadership as film officer at the Arts Council helped to expand and enhance the UK’s vital independent film industry of the 1970s and 80s.Trained in fine art at Camberwell in the 60s, Rodney taught painting and drawing at Loughborough College of Art, but seeing James Scott’s film Richard Hamilton in 1969 proved life-changing. After studying film at Hornsey College of Art in north London, in 1970 he joined the Arts Council and channelled funds to new film-makers with imaginative ideas, nurturing projects from initial treatment through filming (at locations from Transylvania to Pennsylvania) to final edit.Unafraid of controversy, Rodney supported the director Franco Rosso whose Arts Council-funded film, Dread Beat an’ Blood, about Linton Kwesi Johnson, was pulled by the BBC in the runup to the May 1979 general election owing to “unacceptable” political content
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