The City of London has been dealt another blow to its post-Brexit ambitions as Anthropic, the artificial intelligence powerhouse backed by Google and others, confirmed it will list exclusively in the United States. The decision, announced this morning, underscores a growing trend among high-growth tech firms to bypass London’s bourse in favour of deeper liquidity and higher valuations across the Atlantic. For a government that has spent billions wooing tech giants with tax breaks and deregulation pledges, this is a bitter pill to swallow.
Anthropic’s choice is a rational market decision. The US markets offer a far larger pool of capital, particularly from deep-pocketed venture and growth investors who understand the long-term horizon of AI. London, by contrast, remains a laggard in attracting technology listings, with its smaller investor base and a reputation for valuing short-term profits over moonshot innovation. The reality is that while the Chancellor may talk up the ‘Oxford-Cambridge Arc’ and ‘Global Britain’, the numbers tell a different story. Last year, only 2 per cent of global tech IPO proceeds were raised in London. Meanwhile, New York and Nasdaq hoovered up over 60 per cent.
This snub is not just symbolic. It represents a capital flight risk for the UK economy. When a company of Anthropic’s stature decides to list abroad, it takes with it jobs, tax revenues, and the ecosystem of ancillary services. The Treasury may have hoped that listing rules relaxed in the 2021 Hill Review would entice such firms, but clearly, the medicine is not yet strong enough. Investors remain wary of London’s persistent political uncertainty, from the ongoing debate over the Soft Bank-backed ARM’s dual listing to the spectre of higher capital gains tax.
Anthropic’s decision will also fuel fears about the UK’s ability to lead in AI regulation. While the government has launched a taskforce and pledged £900 million for ‘AI compute’, the private sector is voting with its feet. Market efficiency demands that capital flows to where it is treated best. The US offers a lighter regulatory touch, more accommodating securities laws, and a culture of risk-taking. London, for all its historical strengths, is increasingly seen as a backwater for disruptive technology.
What of the wider market? The gilt market barely moved on the news, but the signal is unmistakable. The pound may have held steady, but the long-term erosion of London’s competitiveness is a secular trend that cannot be ignored. The Financial Conduct Authority’s proposed reforms to dual-class share structures and free-float requirements are steps in the right direction, but they are too little, too late. Anthropic’s snub is a clarion call for the City to either adapt or face terminal decline.
The bottom line: the UK government must stop treating the stock market as a geopolitical vanity project and start focusing on the fundamentals. That means lower taxes, simpler regulations, and a credible fiscal plan to keep inflation in check. Until then, expect more companies to follow Anthropic’s lead. The market has spoken, and London has been left on the sidelines.
