Executives from some of Britain’s most valuable technology start-ups have delivered a bombshell warning to Rachel Reeves that tax-raising measures in this month’s budget could force them to cancel plans to list their companies on the London Stock Exchange.
Sky News has obtained a letter sent this week by companies including Revolut, Funding Circle, OakNorth, Clearscore and Quantexa urging the chancellor not to impose an exit tax on wealthy individuals or take other decisions “which will result in reduced confidence or hesitant investment in the UK”.
In total, the signatories to the letter run companies collectively valued at well over $100bn.
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Many of them are among the most prized listing candidates for the UK equity markets at a time when a brief flurry of newly floated candidates has done little to allay concerns about London’s international attractiveness against rival financial centres such as New York and Amsterdam.
They said, though, that Ms Reeves must consider “how any potential changes to the fiscal environment could stand to make the UK less attractive to existing and potential founder – which will result in reduced investment in UK start-ups and reduced innovation; will hinder efforts at driving growth; and may also delay or result in cancellation of companies’ plans to IPO [list their shares publicly] in the UK”.
Their letter, which was sent under the aegis of the trade body Innovate Finance’s Unicorn Council for UK FinTech, called on the chancellor to demonstrate support for Britain’s fintech industry and the wider economy by reversing changes to capital gains tax and inheritance tax rules.
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“Recent changes… have made the UK less attractive to entrepreneurs seeking to start a new business, and to the highly skilled talent that will help drive these startups.
It cited the reduction in the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief from £10m to £1m as a factor in weakening the UK’s “ability to attract and retain founders”.
“Founders need to see a stable and favourable taxation environment in order to take the risk of building a business in the UK,” the bosses wrote.
Their warning is especially acute for the Treasury because it comes from a group of entrepreneurs who have been assiduously courted by Ms Reeves in recent months.
The chancellor has hosted a series of roundtable events with companies including Clearscore, Oaknorth and Revolut as she tries to position London as the most compelling stock exchange in the world to list fast-growing technology businesses.
Earlier this week, she hosted a reception in Downing Street which the Treasury said was to celebrate the recent performance of the UK equity market.
“I am not immune to the narrative that has surrounded UK equity markets, and I too want to see more listings, both joining and staying on our equity markets,” Ms Reeves told guests.
“The performance of our markets this year has been much stronger than you would think if you read the financial press.
“In fact, the FTSE 100 and FTSE all share are close to record highs.”
Revolut, which is expected to be valued at about $75bn in an ongoing share sale, has been engaged in a protracted effort to secure a full UK banking licence, with the Treasury recently reported to have sought to intervene with regulators on the company’s behalf.
Francesca Carlesi, Revolut’s UK CEO and co-chair of the Unicorn Council, is among the signatories to the letter to Ms Reeves.
Others include Vishal Marria, founder and CEO of financial crime detection company Quantexa, which could seek a listing at a valuation of well over $3bn as early as next year.
Rishi Khosla, the Oaknorth founder; Philip Belamant, Zilch co-founder and CEO, and co-chair of the Unicorn Council; Charles McManus, ClearBank co-founder; ClearScore boss Justin Basini; Louise Hill, GoHenry’s founder and executive chair; Funcing Circle CEO Lisa Jacobs; Francesca Simoneschi, co-founder and CEO of TrueLayer; and ThoughtMachine boss Paul Taylor also signed the letter.
Ms Reeves, who will deliver her second budget as chancellor on November 26, made a speech this week in which she braced Britons for steep tax hikes.
In recent weeks, industries including banking and gambling have intensified their lobbying efforts in a bid to avoid being hit by punitive tax hikes.
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An increase in the basic rate of income tax is now anticipated as the chancellor seeks to plug a fiscal gap worth tens of billions of pounds.
