The chief executive of AstraZeneca, Sir Pascal Soriot, has reportedly expressed a preference to move the company’s primary stock market listing from London to New York — a move that could significantly reshape the UK’s capital markets landscape.
In private discussions reported by The Times, Sir Pascal also raised the possibility of re-domiciling the business. The proposed shift would mark the loss of the UK’s most valuable public company, with a market capitalisation of around £160 billion.
AstraZeneca’s share price rose 2.7 percent on 1 July following the report, closing at 10,400 pence. Trading volumes were below average, but the stock outperformed the broader FTSE 100, which gained 0.28 percent that day, according to MarketWatch.
Soriot reportedly cited persistent delays from NICE and unfavourable NHS rebate schemes as barriers to launching innovative medicines in the UK. He was particularly critical of issues affecting the roll-out of cancer therapy Enhertu, developed with partner Daiichi Sankyo.
In an earlier investor update, Soriot emphasised AstraZeneca’s strategic weighting toward the US: “We want to see even more growth in the US over the next few years as part of our 2030 ambition,” he said, as reported by The Guardian.
Market context and implications —
The proposed change is expected to face resistance from AstraZeneca’s board and could provoke a strong political response. Although the UK government cannot legally block such a move, the Labour administration has made life sciences a pillar of its industrial strategy.
London has already lost several major listings to overseas exchanges in recent years. Among them: Ashtead, Flutter, CRH, Ferguson, and fintech firm Wise, which now trades primarily in the US.
The potential loss of AstraZeneca adds weight to concerns over the long-term viability of London as a global capital hub — an issue that the London Stock Exchange and UK regulators have struggled to address meaningfully.
