The London Stock Exchange faces another potential setback as one of Britain's most venerable engineering companies is reportedly preparing proposals for a New York IPO.
Leeds-headquartered Doncasters Group, a crucial supplier to Boeing, is believed to have contacted banks regarding the share offering and is targeting a 2026 flotation.
Doncasters, established in 1778, has not yet reached a final decision on the strategy, Bloomberg reports via .
The firm, employing approximately 3,000 people, generated revenues of £585m in 2024, according to its most recent accounts, whilst pre-tax profits reached £81.6m.
Fewer than 10 per cent of Doncasters' revenues originate from the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, with roughly one-third stemming from the US.
Should the company proceed with these proposals, the decision would place Doncasters amongst an expanding roster of British enterprises that have rejected the London Stock Exchange in preference of a New York listing.
In June, London fintech Wise abandoned its London listing in favour of a primary listing in the US, whilst pharmaceutical heavyweight Astrazeneca recently enhanced the status of its US shares to a direct listing in an effort to provide it with "the flexibility to access the broadest possible available pool of capital."
A mere £184m was garnered on the London Stock Exchange in the initial nine months of the year, a stark contrast to the approximately £17bn raised as recently as 2021, setting 2025 on track to be the most dismal year for listings in over three decades. The sums raised constitute a fraction of the roughly £40bn that has been amassed in the US during the same timeframe.
The ranking positioned London, formerly Europe's top listing destination, behind Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Poland and Germany, and only slightly ahead of Greece and the Netherlands, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. However, the figures also highlight a widespread listings drought across the continent, with Sweden being the sole country able to raise more than £1bn.
