The industrial equipment hire company Ashtead Group has proposed moving its primary stock market listing to New York, becoming the latest blue-chip company to leave London.
The board said that the United States was the “natural long-term listing venue” for the group and added that the move would enhance both its liquidity and profile in its biggest market.
Ashtead made 98 per cent of its operating profits in the US last year and also has its headquarters in the country. Its core business involves renting and selling equipment such as excavators, cranes and scaffolding to the construction industry. It also has clients in the film and television sector, provides security at the Glastonbury Festival and is the UK’s biggest supplier of traffic cones.
Brendan Horgan,
