Shein wins Labour support as it prepares £50bn London listing | Shein

The Labor Party has voiced its support for Shein’s potential listing in London as the Chinese online fashion company prepares to push the button on the UK’s biggest stock market move.

The £52bn retailer is reportedly close to filing a confidential prospectus for the listing of London Stock Exchange to the Financial Conduct Authority as early as this week.

Labor confirmed a report that its MPs had met with the retailer, among “a number of companies, including Shein, looking to invest in or list in the UK”.

A party spokesman said: “Boosting investment, productivity and growth is one of Labour’s missions for government.”

However, the listing could prove to be a political disagreement. Shane’s decision to choose London comes after initial attempts to enter New York were derailed when politicians and regulators raised concerns on the tension between Beijing and Washington.

Senior politicians, including three chairmen of parliamentary committees, did questioned Shane’s courting efforts, raising concerns about working conditions in their supply chains.

Labor said it expected “the highest regulatory standards and business practices” from businesses operating in the UK. “We believe the best way to ensure this is to have more companies operating from and regulated by UK law,” the spokesman said.

Jonathan Reynolds, shadow business secretary, Sarah Jones, shadow minister for industry, and Chris Bryant, shadow minister for creative industries, recently met Donald Tang, Shein’s executive chairman, to discuss the listing, the Times reported.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt also met Tang earlier this year to try to persuade Shane to list in the UK rather than New York.

The company, which started in Nanjing, China, in 2012, quickly became one of the largest fashion retailers in the world due to its low prices and high sales volume.

Its headquarters are in Singapore, and although most of its suppliers are based in China, it does not sell products in the country.

The company reported more than $2 billion in profits in 2023, almost double the $1.1 billion in 2021. If listed in the UK, it is believed to be worth 50 billion pounds.

The pending prospectus filing does not guarantee the company will list in the UK, but people close to the process told Sky News – who first reported the pending filing – it represented a milestone that meant City’s payout was highly likely for Shein.

Shein previously responded to criticism by saying it takes visibility in its supply chain seriously, has zero tolerance for forced labor and is committed to human rights.

If Shein were to list in the UK, it would be a significant boost in this dark period for the LSE, with a number of high-profile companies leaving the UK to list elsewhere.

Last month the owner of Paddy Power Flutter has confirmed that it is moving its listing from London to New Yorkwhile British chip designer Arm chose to list on Wall Street last August after the government failed to persuade him to sail to the UK.

Earlier this year, the Anglo-German travel company Tui votes to divest from LSE in favor of listing its shares only in Germany. However, there was good news last month when the UK-based technology firm Raspberry Pi has confirmed its intention to appear in the UK.

The listing will eclipse the largest listing seen on the LSE – the 38 billion pounds of commodities company Glencore in 2011 – and the spin-off of GSK’s consumer goods division as Haleon, at £30.5bn in 2022.

Separately on Monday, Shane said its resale platform, where customers can resell second-hand products from the fast fashion retailer, will be made available in Europe and the UK.

The platform, which was launched in the US about two years ago, will be available in France, followed by the UK and Germany in subsequent phases, Reuters reported.

The European launch could help address one of the key criticisms of fast fashion retailers like Shein – that their clothes are bought cheaply and then discarded in favor of new items.