Software giant Atlassian leaves UK in setback for the City’s tech hopes
Australian software giant Atlassian is quitting the UK and shifting to the US in a fresh blow to London’s ambitions to establish itself as a global tech hub.
The £45bn Nasdaq-listed firm moved its domicile to London in 2014 but is now transferring its parent entity to the US in the hunt for a deeper pool of tech investors, the Telegraph first reported.
Atlassian’s head of investor relations said in April that moving the firm’s parent entity to the US would increase its access to a “broader set of investors”, as well as support inclusion in “additional stock indices”, and streamline its corporate structure.
Ministers have launched a campaign to promote the capital as a tech centre in recent years, with major reviews of the UK’s listing regime and fintech sector designed to boost the appeal of the capital as a place for tech firm to set up shop.
But efforts have been dealt a number of heavyblows. British chipmaker Arm has indicated it is heading for a primary listing in New York despite a major lobbying campaign from ministers.
Former digital secretary Chris Philp, who resigned last week over Boris Johnson’s leadership, said efforts to woo Arm’s Japanese owner SoftBank may result in a dual listing between New York and London, however.
The appeal of London’s markets for tech firms have been hit by a series of high profile flops in the past two years, including Deliveroo which has shed over 65 per cent of its value since floating, and ecommerce group THG which has slumped over 86 per cent in the past year.