Tech giant plots £16bn London listing in boost for struggling City
A £16bn Norwegian technology giant has announced plans to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange in a rare boost for the struggling market.
Private equity-backed Visma, which is headquartered in Oslo and provides accounting and payroll software to small businesses, is understood to be considering a UK public offering early next year.
According to the Financial Times, Visma has provisionally picked London for a float early next year, after previously considering Amsterdam and Oslo, and is planning to sound out bankers.
A deal is dependent on potential reforms to the London Stock Exchange and listing rules.
If confirmed, the listing would be welcomed by bankers, stock exchange executives and politicians, all of whom have been struggling to reverse a long-term decline in London's public markets.
The City has faced an exodus of public companies as the likes of Paddy Power owner Flutter and drugs giant Indivior have shifted their listings to New York.
Earlier this month, Wise, the overseas payments business, said it would move its primary listing to the US. Investors at construction giant Ashtead approved plans to swap to the New York listing earlier this month.
Others have gone private through takeovers, with high-tech device maker Spectris in talks to quit the market.
Last year, 88 companies abandoned main market listings in London. Meanwhile, there were just 18 floats on the London Stock Exchange or the junior Aim market last year.
The Telegraph reported last week that Waves, a £300m Israeli tech business, had delayed plans to list in London amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East.
Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein is said to have switched a planned float from London to Hong Kong.
London buyout firm Hg Capital has owned Visma since 2006, when it bought the Norwegian company for just £380m. It now employs more than 16,000 people and has annual revenues of €2.8bn (£2.4bn) and adjusted earnings of €893m (£761m).
Hg has owned Visma for far longer than is typical for a private equity fund, reinvesting in the business several times and bringing on new shareholders.
After previously exploring a float two years ago, Visma instead took on new shareholders and secured €3bn (£2.5bn) of investment in a private share sale, valuing the business at €19bn (£16.2bn).
Hg still owns the majority of the businesses, with other shareholders including US private equity firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG) and trading firm Jane Street.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Sir David Murray vows to save Dalzell steel mill as he reveals masterplan
SIR David Murray vowed to be a 'big customer' of Dalzell steel mill if his masterplan to save it becomes reality. The ex-Rangers owner and metal magnate, 73, says he is ready to play a major role in providing Scottish steel for North Sea wind turbines to power the nation's future energy. 4 Sir David Murray vowed to be a 'big customer' of Dalzell steel mill Credit: Andrew Barr 4 The plant in Motherwell is currently mothballed due to cheap Chinese steel imports and a drought in orders Credit: Getty 4 Some 140 workers were furloughed or placed on maintenance duties in April this year Credit: Reuters 4 New Liberty owner Sanjeev Gupta with Nicola Sturgeon Credit: Alan Ewing The plant in Motherwell is currently mothballed due to cheap Chinese steel imports and a drought in orders, with some 140 workers furloughed or placed on maintenance duties in April this year. Sir David has been in talks with Holyrood ministers for a decade over halting the industry's decline. He has now revealed he has held hush-hush negotiations with the UK Government to rescue the mill. His latest intervention comes after PM Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish Secretary Ian Murray blasted SNP ministers in May for allowing the nation's last remaining steel plants — Dalzell and Clydebridge in Cambuslang — to cease production. The Scottish Government orchestrated a takeover of the sites in 2016, putting taxpayers' cash on the line. And Sir Keir insisted last month it was important to 'get those plants up and running again'. Now Sir David has told The Scottish Sun on Sunday: 'There is a lot of political stuff going on over Dalzell. I've been heavily involved in trying to save the plate mill. 'I have spoken to the British Government in the last week and there's a meeting in a few weeks' time. 'The workforce has stayed at home for months and got 80 per cent of their wages. But it could be sorted in a week. We need people in management to work with me. 'I'd be the chairman, I'd help the management, I'd help the business, we'd be a big customer. Former Rangers owner Sir David Murray vows to save Dalzell steel mill with masterplan 'At the time it closed, I was one of its biggest customers. 'At our peak we'd be selling 550,000 tonnes of steel a year. 'That's five Forth rail bridges in weight. Today it's just over one because the fabrication business is diminishing — it's ridiculous that Britain does not have the capacity to roll a steel plate.' Sir David told how there is one mill in the north-east of England which is Ukrainian-owned. He went on: 'The wind turbines being made for the North Sea are much bigger now. 'It's a heavier plate, ideal for Dalzell. There are 50,000 tonnes of steel coming to Teesside this week from Korea to be made into turbines. 'The Scottish Government don't own one wind turbine. Look at the cost of energy. We are buying power from other people who put in these turbines. We need to create growth, jobs and prosperity in this country.' We told last July of fears the Dalzell operation would be mothballed amid a slowdown in work. A report in March by the Community Union, which represents workers at the two plants, said low-cost steel from China and high UK energy prices were hitting British steel production. The union said Dalzell needed investment to become a 'world-leading producer' of a key turbines component. Sir David has long called for an inquiry into the Scottish Government's involvement in the 2016 sale of the Lanarkshire plants to tycoon Sanjeev Gupta and Liberty Steel. The sale was backed by a £7million loan from Scottish Enterprise. MURRAY'S HEART SCARE OP EXCLUSIVE by Rodger Hannah SIR David Murray has lifted the lid on a secret heart op after he was diagnosed with a potentially-fatal medical condition. The businessman fell ill shortly before selling Rangers to Craig Whyte in 2011 — to be told he had an aortic aneurysm. He revealed: 'I was driving home over the Forth Road Bridge and I thought I was having a heart attack. I went into Dunfermline Hospital. I had a scan. It's basically your main blood vessel and the aneurysm makes it expand. 'If it bursts, you've got about half an hour.' Sir David believes the pressure of Rangers' financial issues and the global recession could have contributed to his health scare. He added: 'They told me I needed an operation, which I had in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. 'I shared the information with Craig Brown a few years ago. 'He had an identical thing. His burst but they managed to get him in on time.' Former Scotland manager Brown needed life-saving surgery in 2020. He told the Scottish Sun at the time: 'They say only about three out of ten survive it.' Brown died in 2023 aged 82. But Sir David claims ministers rejected his rival bid because it was potentially incompatible with state aid rules, and has criticised Mr Gupta's management since. He said: 'Ten years ago, I met the Scottish Government and the First Minister [Nicola Sturgeon]. I put a proposal to them and I was told they couldn't do it because they couldn't give state aid. 'Then they lent somebody else £7million who hasn't paid it back.' Mr Gupta, executive chairman of GFG Alliance which owns Liberty Steel, is being prosecuted by Companies House for failing to file accounts for more than 70 companies listed in Britain. He denies any wrongdoing. Ayr-born Sir David spoke exclusively ahead of this Thursday's July publication of his autobiography 'Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles. He remains chair of his family firm, Murray Capital Group, albeit his son, also David, runs day-to-day operations as managing director. He reveals in his new book that some of his teenage grandkids have already attended board meetings. He added: 'There is an opportunity for young people but you better come to the table with a skill. 'You're not coming, as my great friend Sean Connery said, as a member of The Lucky Sperm Club.' The UK Government confirmed Sir David had met with MP Ian Murray. A source said: 'David Murray has met Ian Murray to discuss his concerns about the Dalzell works being mothballed because the SNP cut a bad deal. We encourage the SNP Government to take advantage of the trade deals the UK Labour Government has cut and the industrial strategy which present a huge opportunity for Scottish steel.' Liberty Steel declined to comment. The Scottish Government said its 2016 intervention 'sustained over 100 jobs at Dalzell and retained steelmaking capacity in Scotland.' Scottish Enterprise confirmed: 'We remain in discussion with Liberty Steel regarding repayment of the loan funding.'
North Wales Live
5 hours ago
- North Wales Live
First Minister's relief at welfare cuts U-turn but Plaid slam 'artificial intelligence' speech
The First Minister of Wales today spoke of her "relief" after planned welfare cuts were reversed by the UK Government and criticised the opposition. But Plaid Cymru insisted part of her speech could have been written by artificial intelligence. The political sparring came as Welsh Labour held its conference in Llandudno 's Venue Cymru. Outside the building farmers protested about Inheritance Tax changes among several other issues. Pro-Palestine and pro-Israeli supporters were also in the resort to promote their causes. The conference in Llandudno comes on the heels of Sir Keir's U-turn on welfare policy to avert a major backbench rebellion that will leave Chancellor Rachel Reeves facing a scramble to fill a potential hole in her budget this autumn. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now First Minister Eluned Morgan MS welcomed fellow Labour Party member Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to the event. She said she was 'glad' the UK Government listened to her concerns and reversed planned welfare cuts. The decision will bring 'huge and welcome relief' to thousands in Wales, she added. Baroness Morgan also said she was not 'afraid to speak up when it matters. "I'm glad the UK Government is a listening government and they heard our concerns and changed their approach to welfare cuts,' she said. 'We were really concerned about the impact these changes could have on some of our poorest and most vulnerable communities, and we made that clear to our colleagues in Westminster. 'And I am really glad they listened because that decision brings huge and welcome relief to thousands of people in Wales who rely on this support to live with dignity.' However, Plaid Cymru branded part of Baroness Morgan's speech "vague", claiming it "could have been written by ChatGPT". A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: "Eluned Morgan's speech was all slogan, no substance. "Her big announcement was that Wales should 'get ready for the AI revolution' - a line so vague and disconnected from reality, it could've been written by ChatGPT." Baroness Morgan had promised to modernise the NHS. But Plaid hit back: "She talked about making the NHS"fit for the 21st century", but Labour 's been running it for the entire 21st century so far, all 25 years of it. If it isn't fit by now, whose fault is that?" Plaid added: "Wales needs fresh ideas, practical solutions, and genuine ambition - not the hollow promises of a party that's run out of steam. It's time for new leadership with Plaid Cymru." As for Reform UK, the Prime Minister described leader Nigel Farage as a 'wolf in Wall Street clothing' who has 'no idea what he's talking about'. He claimed the Reform UK leader 'isn't interested in Wales' and has no viable plan for the blast furnaces at Port Talbot. While Baroness Morgan said: 'While Nigel Farage is in Port Talbot peddling fantasies about sending people's grandchildren down coal mines and reopening blast furnaces, we're dealing with the reality that they left behind, the scars of decades of Tory neglect, the the cost of industrial decline,' she said. 'We're not romanticizing the past. We're cleaning it up.' Meanwhile Pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside the Welsh Labour conference. A group of some 150 demonstrators waving Palestinian flags walked solemnly to the venue in Llandudno where they stood for a few minutes to the beat of a drum. A small group of pro-Israel protesters shouted 'free the hostages' and held signs saying 'free Gazans from Hamas'.
South Wales Guardian
9 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Beijing deal will speed China's export of minerals to US
The agreement comes after China retaliated against steep import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese goods, and moved to slow the export of rare earth minerals and magnets much needed by US industrial interests. Mr Bessent said on Fox Business Network's Mornings With Maria that US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping 'had a phone call' previously 'and then our teams met in London, ironed this out, and I am confident now that we, as agreed, the magnets will flow'. 'Part of the agreement was tariffs coming down and rare earth magnets starting to flow back to the US,' Mr Bessent said. 'They formed the core of a lot of our industrial base. They were not flowing as fast as previously agreed.' His comments come after Mr Trump announced two weeks earlier an agreement with China that he said would ease exportation of magnets and rare earth minerals That pact cleared the way for the trade talks to continue. The US has previously suspended some sales to China of critical US technologies like components used for jet engines and semiconductors. But it has also agreed to stop trying to revoke visas of Chinese nationals on US college campuses. Mr Bessent added of critical mineral exports: 'What we're seeing here is a de-escalation.' Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV that the deal was signed earlier this week. China's commerce ministry said on Friday that the two sides had 'further confirmed the details of the framework', though its statement did not explicitly mention US access to rare earths that have been at the centre of the negotiations. 'China will, in accordance with the law, review and approve eligible export applications for controlled items. In turn, the United States will lift a series of restrictive measures it had imposed on China,' it said. Initial talks in Geneva in early May led both sides to postpone massive tariff hikes that were threatening to freeze much trade between the two countries. Later talks in London set a framework for negotiations and the deal mentioned by Mr Trump appeared to formalise that agreement, setting the stage for Mr Bessent's comments on Friday.
