Ocado’s shareholders have been mounting pressure on the online supermarket to move its stock market listing from London to New York.
According to The Telegraph, face-to-face discussions have been held with investors where the idea of abandoning the UK stock market for America was spoken of in detail.
It comes as the UK market is falling behind other European countries, having contributed just over €300m (£258.5m) worth of new listings in the first quarter of a total European figure of €5bn (£4.3bn), according to PwC.
The online grocery tech firm’s market cap now stands at less than £3bn from £22bn in September 2020.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
City sources told the publication that founder and chief executive Tim Steiner could be “persuaded” to move to the US.
It comes as Ocado could face another shareholder revolt at its annual general meeting this month over a new pay scheme which could award Steiner a bonus of up to £15m.
Two advisory groups are understood to have called on shareholders to vote against the new pay policy and share awards over concerns of “excessive pay”.
While the technology arm faces shareholder trouble, the grocery arm has seen a positive turnaround in recent weeks, having been named the fastest growing retailer by both Kantar and NIQ.
In its latest trading update for the quarter to 3 March 2024, Ocado sales jumped 10.6% to £645.3m, while volumes were up 8.1%.
