Ryanair delists from London Stock Exchange to comply with EU post-Brexit rules

Ryanair has confirmed that it will be leaving the London Stock Exchange at the end of this month to comply with EU ownership rules that have affected the aviation industry after Brexit.

The move will end the Irish carrier’s 20-year listing on the LSE and is one of the clearest examples of how Britain’s departure from the EU has affected London markets.

Earlier this month, Ryanair warned that it was considering leaving the LSE because of rules that insist EU airlines are owned and controlled by citizens of the bloc, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein .

The airline has banned non-EU individuals from buying shares in the company for almost 20 years and extended this to institutions and individuals in the UK earlier this year after Brexit.

On Friday, Ryanair said it expects the last day of trading for its London-listed shares to be December 17. “The volume of shares traded on the London Stock Exchange does not account for the cost. fees,” the airline said.

While its main listing is in Dublin, Ryanair has struggled to weed out UK investors since the country left the bloc in January.

But it was forced to weed out some UK shareholders in September through a forced sale of 1 million shares after they bought into the company. UK shareholders who held shares before January were able to keep their shares but were prohibited from attending or voting at the annual meetings.