The UK’s biggest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, has said it will list its shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange in a decision described as a “knock-back for London”.
The FTSE 100 company said its direct listing in New York would replace trading in its American depositary receipts (ADRs) – which give US investors exposure to a non-US company – on the Nasdaq.
AstraZeneca, the UK’s second-biggest listed company with a market value of about £170bn, insisted that it would remain headquartered in Cambridge, England, and stay listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The New York listing, however, puts its US shares on an even footing with its London-listed stock.
The company’s chair, Michel Demaré, said the proposed structure would allow it to “reach a broader mix of global investors and will make it even more attractive for all our shareholders to have the opportunity to participate in AstraZeneca’s exciting future”.
The move, which shareholders need to approve, also opens the company up to US pension funds.
The US is the world’s biggest capital pool and largest pharmaceutical market. AstraZeneca made $23.2bn (£17.25bn) in US revenue last year, about 43% of its total, and the figure is expected to reach 50% by the end of the decade.
Neil Wilson, of the investment platform Saxo Markets, said: “There is probably relief that it’s not pursuing a primary listing in New York, but the decision is hardly a ringing endorsement of London.”
He added that the decision was “a bit of a knock-back for London”.
Russ Mould, investment director at the stockbroker AJ Bell, said: “Although there has been no suggestion that AstraZeneca is imminently going to up sticks and move its primary listing from London, there may be some nervousness this morning around the risk that the UK market might lose one of its largest constituents.
“While there is logic to shifting to a direct listing in the US rather than American depositary receipts beyond setting up for any longer-term moves, it does at least hint at the possibility of a more dramatic shift at some point in the future.
“Big investors could well end up asking questions about AstraZeneca’s ultimate intentions ahead of a vote on the change later this year.”
The group’s commitment to the UK has come under increasing scrutiny, after it said this month it would pause a planned £200m expansion of its research site in Cambridge, which was expected to create 1,000 jobs. In January, it ditched a £450m revamp of its vaccine site in Speke in Liverpool, citing a cut in government support after months of negotiations.
Those projects are among a number that have been ditched or paused by big pharmaceutical firms, amid an ongoing row with the government over drug pricing.
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There have also been reports that Sir Pascal Soriot, the long-serving chief executive, would like to move its stock market listing, and potentially the company’s headquarters, to the US.
Soriot has publicly expressed his frustration about the UK’s rejection of AstraZeneca’s breast cancer drug, Enhertu, and has said the UK and Europe are falling behind China and the US in research. A recent industry report showed the UK slipping down the global rankings in investment and research.
Donald Trump has increased pressure on the pharmaceutical industry, threatening to impose steep tariffs unless they invest in the US, and has asked them to lower their prices, which have traditionally been much higher in the US than elsewhere. The deadline for companies to respond is Monday.
A shift in AstraZeneca’s listing would be a big loss for the London Stock Exchange, which has already suffered a string of departures by companies seeking higher valuations. In recent years, the equipment rental company Ashtead, Paddy Power bookmaker owner Flutter Entertainment, building materials supplier CRH and packaging company Smurfit Westrock have all left the LSE.
A government spokesperson said: “AstraZeneca’s confirmation today that it will stay listed, headquartered and paying tax in the UK brings long-awaited clarity and is good news for jobs, growth and innovation … It shows British companies can scale globally, attract international investment – including from US markets – and remain rooted in the UK.”
Soriot was the highest-paid chief executive on the FTSE 100 for several years, receiving £14.7m in 2024 and £16.85m the previous year. Last year, his pay package ranked behind those of the current and former boss of the engineering group Melrose, Peter Dilnot and Simon Peckham.
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