Value of Tech Companies Trading on the London Stock Exchange hit £158.2B, a £12.9B Drop YoY

As the second-largest stock exchange market in Europe and seventh globally, the London Stock Exchange witnessed a considerable drop in the value of listed companies in 2020.

According to data presented by Buy Shares, the combined value of tech companies listed in London hit £158.2bn in November, a £12.9bn drop year-over-year.

Almost £16bn Plunge Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

The coronavirus pandemic hit the global stock market hard, wiping off billions in stock values amid extreme volatility and massive sell-offs in the first half of 2020. However, tech stocks outperformed the broader market last year, despite the COVID-19 effects.

Nevertheless, statistics show that wasn’t the case with some of the biggest tech companies trading on the London Stock Exchange, whose value dropped significantly in 2020.

In September 2019, the combined market capitalization of tech companies listed in London amounted to £191.8bn, revealed Statista and London Stock Exchange data. By the end of 2019, this figure slumped to £157.8bn, an 18% drop in three months. The noticeable downsizing trend continued in 2020, with the combined market cap of tech companies falling to £141.9bn in March last year, almost a £16bn plunge amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Statistics show the following months brought a recovery, with the figure rising to £159.7 in September 2020. However, it dropped again, reaching £158.2 in November, a 7.5% fall year-over-year.

The number of tech companies trading on the London Stock Exchange also decreased in the last two years. In January 2018, it amounted to 152. By May and June 2018, it jumped to 160, the highest figure during this period. Statistics show there were 144 technology companies listed on the London Stock Exchange as of November 2020.

IBM and Sage Group’s Market Cap Plunged in 2020, Just Eat’s Stock Price Continues Rising

As the leading tech company listed in London, the multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation, IBM has witnessed a significant market cap drop in 2020. In January, the combined value of shares of the US tech giant amounted to £87bn, revealed the Yahoo Finance data. This figure plunged to £81.2bn in the last week of December, a £5.8bn drop since the beginning of 2020.

On the other hand, the market cap of Just Eat Takeaway, the second-largest tech company trading on the London Stock Exchange, spiked in 2020. In January, the combined value of shares of the leading European food delivery app amounted to £4.1bn.

In June, the company announced its plan to buy the top food delivery service in the United States, Grubhub, to develop the world’s largest food delivery company outside China. Statistics show Just Eat Takeaway’s market capitalization amounted to £11.9bn last week, a 185% jump year-over-year.

As the third-largest tech company listed in London, the British enterprise software giant Sage Group, lost £1.3bn in market capitalization last year, with the figure falling from £7.7bn in January to £6.4bn in December 2020.