 Yves Herman/ReutersUK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said the regulatory focus is now on “growth, not just for risk,” — part of a charm offensive meant to bring new global investment to Britain and keep its restive corporate giants from fleeing. “We’ve told our regulators they need to regulate for growth, not just for risk,” Reeves told Semafor in an interview, days after the Labour government sacked a top antitrust regulator, which she called “a recognition that this government has got a different strategic approach.” The UK is facing the bill from Brexit: a stagnated and isolated economy, soaring borrowing costs, and a frustrated corporate class. Investors have demanded steep interest rates to hold its bonds, eating into Reeves’ budgetary leeway and amping up pressure on its new government to either cut spending or raise taxes — neither option politically attractive. Ray Dalio warned this week that Britain risked a “debt death spiral.” “The most important way to make debt sustainable is to grow the economy,” Reeves said. London lost 70 public companies last year via takeovers or transfers to US exchanges, where stock valuations are higher and — importantly — executive pay is much higher. One-third of British CEOs have considered relisting their businesses outside of the country, according to a Teneo survey. “There’s no silver bullet,” London Stock Exchange Group CEO David Schwimmer said in an interview. “The pension fund situation in the UK has been 20 years in the making, so we’re not going to fix that overnight. But over the next few years I think you could see a meaningful impact. Still, the LSEG chief noted, there were “some myths that need to be busted” about Britain’s capital markets: chiefly, that companies can fix perceived valuation gaps by relisting in New York. “If you look at the performance of [formerly UK-listed] companies that have gone to the US, it’s gruesome,” Schwimmer said, while conceding that a few have “done fine.” (Shares of gambling giant Flutter have soared 45% since it moved to New York, helped by the runaway success of FanDuel but also by its new digs. Shares of Ferguson, a plumbing distributor, are up 50% since it re-listed in New York in 2022.) Recent reforms meant to make it easier for private companies to list and bring more UK pension money into the stock market should help, Reeves said. But being open for business also leaves Britain’s corporate champions exposed to takeovers, especially when their stocks trade at steep discounts to foreign rivals. “We welcome investment to come to Britain,” she said, but stressed market reforms to help companies “access financing here in Britain, rather than having to go to the US.” | 
