Building materials group CRH has confirmed plans to withdraw entirely from the London Stock Exchange, two and a half years after moving its primary listing to New York. The Dublin-based company said it had reviewed its London listings and concluded that retaining them was no longer in the best interests of the firm or its shareholders.
In a statement, CRH cited the level of trading activity in its ordinary shares on the London market, as well as the additional costs and regulatory obligations of maintaining the listings. The group will cancel its ordinary share listing and its preference share listing, with the latter subject to investor approval at the annual general meeting in May.
The delisting is scheduled to take effect on Monday 20 April, with Friday 17 April set to be the final day of trading in London. CRH moved its main listing to the New York Stock Exchange in September 2023, noting at the time that a US presence would bring greater commercial and acquisition opportunities, and that around three-quarters of its earnings came from North America.
The move represents another setback for London's financial markets, following similar decisions by Flutter, BHP and Ashtead to abandon their primary UK listings. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the development was “another sign of London’s diminished status in the roster of global markets”, adding that companies which switch to the US often pledge to keep a London presence, but CRH's actions suggest that is no longer guaranteed.
