Rachel Reeves will this week meet some of Britain’s hottest technology companies in a bid to persuade them that the government’s financial market reforms should tip the balance in favour of them floating in London.
Sky News has learnt that the chancellor will hold talks with a string of technology ‘unicorns’ – valued at $1bn or more – on Thursday.
Among the larger fast-growing tech companies which have been tipped to explore public listings in the medium term are fintechs such as Monzo, Revolut, Zilch and AI-led businesses including Quantexa.
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The Treasury declined to comment on the list of attendees on Tuesday, although one insider confirmed that the talks would be aimed at reinforcing the global competitiveness of London’s capital markets.
Tulip Siddiq, the City minister, is also expected to attend the meeting.
Many of the most valuable British start-ups and scale-ups have signalled they may float overseas, particularly in the US, in order to secure higher valuations.
The chancellor has been on the back foot since her budget last month, which piled additional taxes on to the private sector and left many bosses questioning Labour’s claims to be a pro-growth government.
Ms Reeves spoke at the annual Mansion House dinner two weeks ago, when she unveiled a range of measures to encourage investment into UK companies.
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On Monday, she addressed a CBI conference at which she vowed that Labour would not further increase taxes on businesses during this parliament.
Ministers have also said they plan to address the competitiveness agendas of key economic regulators including the Competition and Markets Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, amid criticism they have done too little to promote growth.