Ryanair delists from London Stock Exchange

Ryanair Holdings confirmed that the listing of its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) had been cancelled, saying in a filing to the bourse on December 20 that the delisting had taken effect from 0800 Dublin time (0800Z).

“The company continues to have a primary listing on the regulated market of Euronext Dublin, which offers shareholders the highest standard of protection, including compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, and its ADRs [American Depository Receipts] are listed on the NASDAQ,” the Ryanair (FR, Dublin Int’l) parent said in the filing.

The announcement followed a disclosure the carrier issued on November 19, saying it had applied to the UK Financial Conduct Authority to cancel its listing in London because “the volume of trading of the shares on the London Stock Exchange does not justify the costs related to such listing and admission to trading.”

It had therefore opted to “consolidate trading liquidity to one regulated market for the benefit of all shareholders.” The last day of trading of the shares on the LSE would be December 17, it said.

Ryanair Holdings CEO Michael O’Leary had revealed during an earnings call on November 1 that the company would delist from the LSE “probably sometime in the next six months” citing diminishing interest in its shares from UK investors post-Brexit. It had already made some of its UK-based investors sell shares to ensure it complied with the mandate after Brexit.

Europe’s biggest budget carrier has maintained a primary listing on Euronext Dublin. It said in a statement on November 1 that “the migration away from the London Stock Exchange is consistent with a general trend for trading in shares of EU corporates post-Brexit and is, potentially, more acute for Ryanair as a result of the long-standing prohibition on non-EU citizens purchasing Ryanair’s ordinary shares being extended to UK nationals following Brexit.”