The leaders of the UK’s biggest public companies are “frustrated” by pressure on their executive pay and many feel they would be “better off” managing private companies away from public scrutiny, according to a report by an £18.5tn investor group.

The Investor Forum, UK fund managers’ top corporate governance body, sounded a warning in its 2019 report that “there is no doubt that the effectiveness of public markets is being questioned” as the number of publicly listed companies declines.