Tui, Europe’s biggest travel company, is abandoning the London Stock Exchange in favour of listing its shares solely in Germany.
A vote on Tuesday resulted in 98.35% of shareholders backing a company proposal to drop its UK listing, in what will be seen as the latest blow to London’s standing in international finance.
The company said the result showed “there was a very clear vote in favour of delisting from the London Stock Exchange”.
The move – which will see Tui retain its dual listing on the Hanover and Frankfurt exchanges – is expected to take place early this summer.
The company had argued to shareholders that the axing of London would simplify its structure and improve liquidity, with some investors suggesting that shares traded solely in Germany could lower costs and provide “support for EU airline ownership”.
Tui has said about 77% of share transactions are settled directly via the German share register, while less than a quarter of trading in Tui shares is in the form of UK depositary interests.
Trading of Tui shares has previously attracted scrutiny. An attempted transfer in March 2022 of a large stake owned by the Russian steel, mining and banking tycoon Alexei Mordashov resulted in a criminal investigation in Cyprus, after an international media exposé raised questions about a potential sanctions breach. Mordashov’s stake remains frozen.
Tuesday’s vote will also be viewed through a national lens and will be considered as the latest setback for the London stock market.
Last month, the betting company Flutter listed in New York and said it would switch its primary listing from London, with shareholders due to vote on the proposal in May.
Last year, the Cambridge-based chip designer Arm, one of the UK’s few bona fide global tech success stories, snubbed London in favour of floating on the Nasdaq in New York, in one of the biggest initial public offerings in recent years.
Tui’s stock exchange switch, which required 75% of votes at the virtual AGM, came on a day that the company also reported a surprise profit and record revenues in the Christmas quarter on strong demand for travel.
The travel firm reported an unexpected profit of €6m (£5.1m) in the final quarter of last year, compared with a loss of €153m in the same period in 2022.
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Revenues soared 15% year on year to €4.3bn, a record for the quarter, which the company said was driven by higher demand at improved prices and rates.
Sebastian Ebel, the chief executive of Tui, said: “People’s willingness to travel is still high, despite a market environment that remains challenging. We are on track, we are gaining customers and we are growing. We are accelerating our transformation quarter by quarter.”
Tui, which cut its debt from €5.3bn to €4bn by the end of last year, maintained its full-year forecast of a 10% increase in revenues and a 25% uplift in profits.
The company said winter and summer bookings were up 8% year on year, and average prices were up 4%. Tui has 9.4m bookings for winter and summer combined, up on 8.7m last year.
