David Cumming, one of the City’s longest-serving fund managers, said the UK must become “more pro-business” to keep its competitive edge over rival financial centres that are winning the IPO battle.

“London has to be a little bit careful,” said Cumming, who is head of UK equities at BNY Mellon-owned Newton Investment Management. “There is a tipping point where big companies start to list somewhere else and you start to lose some of the competitive advantages that made London a competitive financial centre.”