London Stock Exchange boss urges reforms to boost London floats 

London Stock Exchange boss urges Government to push ahead with rules reforms to boost London floats

Reform plea: David Schwimmer  became chief exec of the LSE in 2018

The boss of the London Stock Exchange is urging the Government to push ahead with listing rules reforms to make the UK a serious challenger to Wall Street.

David Schwimmer, who became chief executive of the LSE in 2018, warned that Britain will miss out on the next wave of tech companies to list on the stock market unless it overhauls its rules fast.

In an effort to boost the economy following the pandemic, the Government announced a review of the regulations governing how companies can list on the stock exchange in November.

The LSE has typically struggled to attract young entrepreneurial firms, due to listing rules which place a huge burden on companies in terms of the boxes they must tick.

Schwimmer told the FT: ‘I think it’s worth looking at changing these rules, not doing it in a way that is a race to the bottom from a governance perspective, doing it in a thoughtful way.’

But Schwimmer’s suggestions may worry others who believe that corporate governance rules help to protect shareholders from the egos of many company owners.