Paddy Power firm Flutter to ditch London stock market listing

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “It was never worth betting Flutter would stay on the UK stock market as the odds were too poor.

“The clues were there for a long time that Paddy Power’s owner would be packing its bags and make the US its sole home from a stock market perspective.

“Flutter had already switched its primary stock listing to the States and in August it will delist from London completely.

“With Flutter having jumped ship and William Hill’s owner Evoke set to be taken over, the UK stock market has a rapidly shrinking gambling sector. Ladbrokes’ parent Entain is the last man standing of any size.

“Flutter’s decision is bad for the London Stock Exchange which has a big job on its hands to stop the outflow of members.

“However, it makes perfect sense for a company like Flutter to focus on where most shareholders are based and where business is increasingly done.

“Chasing higher valuations is another reason why companies switch main listings from London to the US, but that dynamic has yet to come up trumps for Flutter.

“Its shares have been depressed by setbacks in the States and in March the stock traded at its lowest valuation in 17 years.”