London loses stock market crown as gambling shares suffer dismal 12 months
Flutter emerges bruised but not beaten yet Entain, 888 and Rank Group stock plummets over the past year
London has lost its position as Europe’s most-valued stock market after a year which has seen publicly listed companies’ shares plummet.
According to data from Bloomberg, London has now been taken over by Paris as the most valuable exchange, making it the first time Paris has surpassed the UK capital since records began in 2003.
Bloomberg said the combined value of British shares now sits at around $2.82tn (GBP) compared to $2.821tn in France.
The changing of the guard represents a huge loss for the London Stock Exchange, which was worth around $1.4tn more than Paris in 2016.
A combination of Brexit, a weak pound and growing fears of the longest recession in the UK since records began have hampered the market, while France has benefited from an uptick in its luxury goods sales after a surge in demand from China.
Additionally, the euro has also fallen less sharply against the US dollar than the pound.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget, which included £45bn of unfunded tax cuts, left the British economy reeling and forced the Bank of England to step in with a rescue plan.
In fact, over the last year, the FTSE 250 shrunk by 17% in value, while the FTSE 100 has slipped by just 0.4%.
London-listed gambling companies have faced intense difficulties over the last 12 months, with all six companies that publicly trade in the capital losing value in the last year.
888 has the unfortunate title of the firm which has lost the most value, falling 71.12% to 102.08p a share, corresponding to a market cap of £450.57m.
Rank Group has also seen its shares plummet, falling 54.55% to 71p, and affiliate XLMedia’s stock value has decreased by 66.67% to 16.6p.
Entain has seen its share price dive by 31% to 1,348p and its market cap drop to £7.95bn, stoking questions regarding a potential return bid from MGM Resorts International after its £8.1bn offer from Entain’s US JV partner was rejected in January 2021.
Playtech has seen its stock collapse after M&A moves for the supplier failed to materialise, initially from Aristocrat and then TTB Partners.
The firm’s stock has fallen 23.95% in the last year to 554p.
Finally, Flutter Entertainment’s shares have only decreased slightly compared to its fellow listed companies. The Dublin-headquartered firm’s stock has dipped by 5.78% in the last year to £114 a share.
Flutter has the second-most expensive shares on the exchange, behind Spirax-Sarco Engineering which cost £119 each.