A British car battery company run by former Tesla executives has hit the London stock exchange after revealing plans to delist.
DG Innovate (DGI), which counts former Tesla boss Peter Bardenfleth-Hansen as its chief executive, said a lack of support for startups in the city had prompted the decision to leave the mainstream market and go private. .
In particular, the company said that bureaucracy around London share listing rules meant it was more difficult to raise money from investors, which has hampered its attempts to grow.
“There has been and continues to be a broad lack of demand for exposure to companies at DGI’s current stage of development within the traditional UK institutional investor base,” he said.
The company said it “did not foresee any obvious near-term catalysts that could change this context.”
Leaving the market would reduce its administrative burden, the DGI said, as the costs of remaining public “disproportionately” outweigh the benefits.
DG shares plummeted 75 per cent following the announcement, reducing the company’s value from £12m to £2.8m.
Although DGI is a small company, the delisting is a blow to the prestige of the London stock market as a place where small businesses can access cash to grow.
Historically, companies have used trading as a means to expand. But three years of outflows from UK equity funds have left smaller listed companies unsupported.
The dearth of new listings has also weakened the London market due to the increase in companies being privatized by foreign investors.
The London Stock Exchange changed its listing rules earlier this year to reduce some of the burdens of a float, including making it easier to make decisions without the need for a shareholder vote.
However, the rush of companies leaving London has continued in recent months, with tool rental giant Ashtead recently announcing plans to move its main listing to New York.
Bardenfleth-Hansen was appointed to head DG Innovate in December 2023, alongside former Tesla executives Christian Eidem and Jochen Rudat.
Bardenfleth-Hansen and Rudat previously held senior positions in Tesla’s European teams.
Based in Wales, DG Innovate is developing batteries made from sodium as an alternative to lithium batteries, which are more widely used in electric vehicles (EV).
This is expected to make electric vehicles cheaper and less dependent on supplies from China.
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