• Signet to voluntary delist from London Stock Exchange
  • Company blamed ‘lack of liquidity’ for withdrawal
  • Board’s analysis of trading revealed that total trading in London over whole of 2014 was equal to five days trading in New York

Ernest Jones owner Signet Jewelers plans to delist from the London Stock Exchange owing to a “lack of liquidity” on the market and to cut costs.

Signet Jewelers, formerly known as the Ratner Group, will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The global retailer’s dual listing on the New York and London Stock Exchanges meant that it was paying to maintain two listings. The de-listing will allow it to streamline admin and reduce costs.

The company said in a statement that the total trades on the LSE during 2014 were equal to five days of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Lack of liquidity in a market negatively affects the stability of an asset or security’s price. The more liquidity a market has, the easier it is to buy or sell an asset or security quickly without affecting its price.

Signet explained in a notice to the stock exchange that its board had conducted a review of its listings last year, exploring the level of trading activity in both London and New York.

It stated today: “This review found that the total trades placed on the LSE in 2014 equalled around five days of trading on US exchanges. As a result the board has resolved to delist the shares from trading on the LSE.

“As the volume of trading on the shares on the LSE is low and Signet’s shares can continue to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Signet believes the impact on its shareholders of delisting from the LSE will be negligible.”

The last day of trading is expected to be March 14, 2016. 

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