WE Soda ditches London IPO plans

WE Soda said on Wednesday that it has abandoned its London IPO plans, citing "extreme investor caution".

The world’s largest producer of natural soda ash confirmed last week that it was planning to make its stock market debut in London after seeing "considerable" investor interest.

However, the company said in a statement earlier that this was no longer the case.

Chief executive officer Alasdair Warren said: "Since our intention to float announcement some weeks ago, we had been encouraged by the breadth of investor engagement globally and the subsequent interest from prospective investors in our IPO.

"Despite this, the reality is that investors, particularly in the UK, remain extremely cautious about the IPO market and this extreme investor caution in London meant that we were unable to arrive at a valuation that we believe reflects our unique financial and operating characteristics. As a result, we have decided to cancel our IPO on the London Stock Exchange."

The UK-based firm - which has two large production sites in Turkey - was reported to have been targeting a valuation of around $7.5bn, which would have seen it enter the FTSE 100.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "This is fresh blow for London just as confidence in the city as an IPO launch pad appeared to be edging back upwards. Investors are understandably cautious given the nervousness surrounding the UK’s prospects with inflation is still running so hot.

"Gilt yields have soared to levels not seen for 15 years amid expectations the Bank of England will have to fire off fresh rounds of interest rate hikes. The uncertainty ahead is clearly off-putting and companies considering IPOs may continue to set their sights on New York instead."