Bunzl boss Frank van Zanten (pictured) said the FTSE 100 company had no current plans to move its main listing to Wall Street
Britain must create ‘the right environment for international business’ if it is to avoid more firms switching to the US stock market, the boss of Bunzl warned.
Frank van Zanten said the FTSE 100 distribution and outsourcing giant had no current plans to follow the likes of chip designer Arm or building materials firm CRH in moving its main listing to Wall Street.
But van Zanten, 56, said the £9billion-valued company – which supplies everything from safety gloves and toilet roll to face masks and coffee cups – was watching developments closely.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘Currently, it’s not on the board’s agenda but obviously we want to make sure we do the right thing for all our stakeholders including our shareholders.
‘So nothing planned – but we’re monitoring closely what’s happening. What is important is the Government and other bodies need to make sure that the climate in the UK is such that it’s the right environment to be in for international business.’
Van Zanten said that meant ‘supporting growth, supporting the right things for business, [being] a business-friendly environment’.
But he would not be drawn further on what he meant by that and whether it included tax cuts, adding: ‘I’m not a politician.’
Van Zanten made the comments as Bunzl reported a rise in first-half profits to £438million as sales climbed to £5.9billion and lifted its guidance for the full year.
That cheered investors, lifting shares by 3.1 per cent, or 84p, to 2808p.
Van Zanten’s remarks come at a time of soul searching in the City and Whitehall about the decisions by the likes of Arm – which recently formally announced its plans for a New York float – to shun the London Stock Exchange.
As part of efforts to stop the rot, regulators have shaken up listing rules.
Reforms designed to unlock more UK capital to invest in companies are also in train.
Yesterday, David Schwimmer, boss of the London Stock Exchange Group, played down fears of the London market’s demise.
He told the Evening Standard: ‘The City has a way of reinventing itself. It has done so over hundreds of years.’
Bunzl, which makes 60 per cent of its revenues in North America, has expanded through a series of acquisitions, most recently in Poland, and now operates in 32 countries.
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