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Building materials group CRH has announced its decision to completely delist from the London Stock Exchange.
This move follows the company’s decision two years ago to switch its primary listing to New York.
This development represents another setback for the London Stock Exchange, especially considering the growing trend of companies being acquired and taken private.
The appeal of private markets is becoming increasingly evident; opportunities to invest in publicly listed companies are diminishing.
In fact, more than a third of high-net-worth clients at Wealth Club plan to invest in private equity this year. Wealth Club is the first investment platform in the UK to offer individual investors a selection of semi-liquid private market funds.
Susannah Streeter, Chief Investment Strategist, Wealth Club said: “The delisting of CRH isn’t a complete surprise, given that it had already switched its main listing to New York and three quarters of its profits are reliant on its operations in North America. However, with yet another big name heading Stateside, it will still be a significant blow to the London Stock Exchange.
“It comes after a flurry of other companies have taken flight from the UK to seek greater fortune under a New York listing.
“At the same time, there has also been a trend of global giants swallowing big fish from the UK pond, with acquisitions such as Schroders by Nuveen still front of mind. Each high-profile departure shrinks the UK’s listed market and reinforces the perception that companies are finding deeper pools of capital and higher valuations across the Atlantic.
“We’ve also had a much more sluggish pipeline of new companies listing on the market. Although there have been hopes of a fresh influx of IPOs this year, the market volatility sparked by tensions in the Middle East may cause nervousness and delays.
“For UK investors who have a domestic bias, these trends limit the availability of UK-listed assets to add to portfolios. In this gap, it’s not surprising that private market opportunities are becoming increasingly attractive, given that opportunities to invest in listed companies are declining.
“More than a third (35.8%) of Wealth Club clients plan to invest in private equity in 2026, according to our latest investor survey, highlighting the growing appetite we’re seeing for private markets among sophisticated investors.
“Big institutions have been allocating to private assets for decades. The ultra-wealthy now invest as much as 35% of their portfolios in private markets, but until recently individual investors had very limited access. That is changing rapidly.
“Private equity managers increasingly recognise the scale of this opportunity and are building products designed specifically for private investors. Semi-liquid funds, while still long-term in nature, remove many of the barriers that previously restricted access to all but the most sophisticated institutions.
“Wealth Club is the first investment platform in the UK to offer a range of semi-liquid private markets funds to individual investors, with the Brookfield Private Equity Fund the latest to be added to the platform.”
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