Disaster for Rachel Reeves as Britain’s biggest company ‘considers US move’

Rachel Reeves has been dealt another huge blow as Britain's most valuable public company reportedly looks to move its stock market listing to the US. AstraZeneca, the UK's leading biopharmaceutical company, could switch from the FTSE 100 to one of its American counterparts at the CEO's wish.

Sir Pascal Soriot has spoken of the move numerous times and even considered changing where his company is based, it is reported. Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said it would be worrying for the Chancellor and Government as they plan to make London more attractive to investors and focus on life sciences as one of the eight sectors in its industrial strategy. She explained: "At a time when the Government and regulators are laying out plans to make the City more attractive, if this move being mulled by AstraZeneca were to become a reality, it would be another big setback for London.

"The more company boards are reported to be discussing such a strategy, the more likely it will be that other firms will embark on similar discussions to assess whether moving main listings could help boost valuations.”

Sources say Sir Pascal would face backlash for this from the board and the Government - who are not believed to have been informed, The Times reports.

If it moved to the US stock market, it would follow in the footsteps of Ashtead, the industrial equipment hire firm, Flutter, the owner of Paddy Power, CRH, the building materials supplier, and Ferguson, the plumbing group.

Sir Pascal has spoken openly of his concerns for Europe, warning that it has fallen behind the US and China - AstraZeneca's two biggest markets - in terms of creating new medicines.

The biopharmaceutical company, with a market value of £157 billion, has already got depositary receipts for the US, allowing investors to hold and trade shares in the country without dealing directly in its market.

It has also been investing heavily in the US as it represented over 40% of its £39 billion group revenue last year.

In April, Sir Pascal said his company would increase investments in the country, warning that industry jobs would also move over there unless Europe improved its incentives and access to new medicines.

He has also presided over investments in China. In March, AstraZeneca announced £1.8 billion would be dedicated to establishing its sixth global strategic research and development centre in Beijing.

In the UK, the company was planning to almost double group revenues to £58 billion by the end of the decade.

However, in January it scrapped plans for a £450 million investment to expand its flu vaccines plant in Liverpool, accusingt the Government of missing an internal deadline to confirm financial support.

AstraZeneca also decided to invest £263 million in a manufacturing plant in Ireland as opposed to England, with Sir Pascal citing a "discouraging" tax rate.