Shareholder campaign group criticises Vodafone decision to list £18bn towers business in Frankfurt rather than London
A shareholder campaign group has criticised Vodafone’s decision to list its £18billion towers business in Frankfurt rather than London.
Sharesoc said the move would make UK private investors less likely to take part in the float, and give the towers firm access to a smaller pool of capital.
Vodafone insists Frankfurt is a better fit because the largest number of mobile phone masts it owns, some 19,000, are in Germany. Cliff Weight, director of Sharesoc, said: ‘Vodafone’s roots are in Britain and it has a large number of British shareholders.
Claim: Vodafone insists Frankfurt is a better fit because the largest number of mobile phone masts it owns, some 19,000, are in Germany
‘They would much rather have shares in a UK-listed firm and will be more cautious about having shares in a company abroad.’
He also said London had several other advantages, including access to larger pools of capital that could help the new business grow. He added: ‘The recent experience of Wirecard in Frankfurt has done no favours for the city’s image.’
A poll yesterday found that global investors still prefer the City to its rivals.
The survey of 506 investors with assets worth $1trillion found that London consistently fared better than other financial centres such as Frankfurt and Paris in areas such as talent and quality of life.
Investors marked it highly for connectivity, attractiveness to business and expertise in environmental and governance issues.
Most said the virus crisis had not affected the City’s allure and 79 per cent were already making new investments. The poll was commissioned by City of London Corporation. Policy boss Catherine McGuinness said: ‘It is testament to the fundamental strength, resilience and adaptability of the City that despite the Covid-19 crisis the Square Mile remains such an attractive long-term location for continued global investment and location of talent.’
Vodafone has said it will float a minority stake in its towers business, named Vantage Towers, in 2021. It will have 68,000 towers across Europe and could attract a market capitalisation of £18billion.
However Vodafone boss Nick Read has insisted the choice was ‘quite straightforward’ because it holds most towers in Germany. It comes after Read previously said that Germany was now at the ‘heart of the company’.
The country accounts for 30 per cent of Vodafone’s revenues.