UK stock market index tracking  small firms 'will cease to exist'

The British capital’s listing woes have not been limited to the small-caps and mirror those of much smaller exchanges across the rest of Europe, including in Dublin

Companies raised just £817m on the London Stock Exchange in 2023, the least since 2009, according to data. 

An index of UK small-cap stocks will cease to exist by 2028 if the current level of takeover activity persists and the initial public offering market fails to rebound, London stockbroker Peel Hunt has warned.

The number of companies listed on the Ftse Small Cap Index, excluding investment trusts, fell to 114 at the end of 2023 from 160 at the end of 2018, Peel Hunt head of research Charles Hall said in a research note to clients. “The pace of de-equitisation is relentless,” Mr Hall said.