Ryanair stops trading on LSE over post-Brexit regulations
Ryanair announced that it has stopped trading on the LSE’s main market from 8am this morning, while maintaining a primary listing on Dublin’s Euronext.
With an £18.4bn value, Ryanair was one of the biggest airlines listed in London.
The decision pushed down the low-cost carrier’s shares on the Irish market to €13.85, 4.25 per cent less compared with the previous close.
Initially announced on 19 November, the decision was made over admission fee concerns and post-Brexit ownership rules.
To maintain full licensing rights, EU require airlines to be majority owned by countries within the bloc or with more integrated arrangements than the UK, Morning Wire reported.
According to David Warnock-Smith, professor in aviation management at Buckinghamshire New Univesity, post-Brexit the cost for Ryanair to stay on the LSE was too high if compared with the number of trades it has been getting.
“To assure that Ryanair is 51 per cent owned by EU nationals, the carrier has been banning UK investors from purchasing stock,” he said.
“As in the past the majority of those trading Ryanair shares on the LSE were mainly UK nationals, [post-Brexit] it wasn’t worthwhile.
By focusing on the Dublin listing, Warnock-Smith explained, the airline has “reduced the cost of trading” to become “more in line with its designed ownership structure.”