Exclusive: U.K. stock market ’approaching irrelevance’, Webull U.K. CEO says

The U.K. stock market is rapidly approaching irrelevance for retail investors due to persistent company delistings, shrinking domestic liquidity, and structural tax hurdles, according to Nick Saunders, Chief Executive Officer of Webull U.K. A wave of takeovers and private equity buyouts—including recent deals involving Gamma Communications, Capricorn Energy, and Bodycote—has systematically reduced the pool of recognizable London-listed household names, pushing both institutional and retail capital toward deeper overseas markets like the United States. Saunders highlighted the 0.5% U.K. stamp duty on share purchases as a major deterrent for retail equity investors compared to cost-effective U.S. alternatives. Furthermore, he criticized London Stock Exchange Group's focus on data monetization over core market infrastructure and warned against proposed trading hour extensions. Expanding continuous trading hours without fresh capital inflows would dilute existing liquidity density, widening bid-ask spreads and raising effective transaction costs for market participants.