One of the UK’s most valuable listed companies is to sell its shares directly on the rival New York Stock Exchange, in a move described as a “knock back for London”.

While AstraZeneca will maintain its headquarters in the UK and its primary stock listing on the London Stock Exchange, the news can be seen as a move away from London.

“Although there has been no suggestion that AstraZeneca is imminently going to up sticks and move its primary listing from London, there may be some nervousness this morning around the risk that the UK market might lose one of its largest constituents,” said Russ Mould, the investment director of investment platform AJ Bell.

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The news “does at least hint at the possibility of a more dramatic shift at some point in the future”, Mr Mould said.

There may also be relief that AstraZeneca is not moving from the London Stock Exchange altogether.

“I think there is probably relief that it’s not pursuing a primary listing in New York, but the decision is hardly a ringing endorsement of London,” said Neil Wilson, the UK investor strategist at investment platform Saxo Markets.

“It reflects the fundamental, structural issues in the UK for the largest globally-oriented stocks – the depth and liquidity of its capital markets is falling short of what’s on offer across the pond.”

“It’s also a bit of a knock-back for London”, Mr Wilson said.

Why is this happening?

The Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company said the decision to sell shares directly on the New York Stock Exchange – rather than the previous less straightforward system of using American depository receipts – has been made to allow it “to reach a broader mix of global investors” and “make it even more attractive for all our shareholders”.

“The US has the world’s largest and most liquid public markets by capitalisation, and the largest pool of innovative biopharma companies and investors,” the company said in an announcement to investors.

AstraZeneca’s share price was up 0.7% on the news.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it will partially resume manufacturing “in the coming days” after nearly a month in the wake of a cyber attack.

The luxury car-making plants have paused production since 31 August. The cyber attack halted car-making across the supply chain, with staff off work as a result.

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More than 33,000 people work directly for JLR in the UK, many of whom are on assembly lines in the West Midlands, with the largest facility located in Solihull, and a plant in Halewood on Merseyside.

Roughly 200,000 more are employed by several hundred companies in the supply chain, who rely on JLR orders as their biggest client.

“As the controlled, phased restart of our operations continues, we are taking further steps towards our recovery and the return to manufacture of our world-class vehicles,” a company spokesperson said.

The shutdown was said to last until at least 1 October.

“Today we are informing colleagues, retailers and suppliers that some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days,” the company added, days on from the partial restart of its IT systems, which allowed supplier payments to recommence.

“We know there is much more to do, but the foundational work of our recovery is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide updates as we progress.”

Over the weekend, the government said it would underwrite a £1.5bn five-year loan guarantee to JLR.

The promise came as the head of the influential Business and Trade Committee of MPs wrote to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, warning small firms reliant on JLR, “may have at best a week of cashflow left to support themselves” with “urgent” action needed to support businesses.

JLR was just the latest business to be the subject of a cyberattack.

Harrods, the Co-Op, and Marks and Spencer, are among the companies that’ve struggled in the past year with such attacks.

The outgoing boss of the British Olympic Association will this week be named as the new chief executive of one of Europe’s biggest e-commerce platforms for sports and outdoor enthusiasts.

Sky News has learnt that Andy Anson, who will step down next month as chief executive of Team GB, is joining Sportscape Group, which boasts a ‘member community’ of over 25 million people.

Sportscape is owned by bd-capital and Bridgepoint, which merged their respective portfolio companies SportPursuit and PrivateSportShop in 2022.

Prior to leading the BOA, Mr Anson was chief executive of Kitbag, which was subsequently sold to Fanatics.

He is also a former commercial director of Manchester United Football Club.

Sportscape trades across core markets including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

“Sportscape has already established itself as a key player in the European sports e-commerce landscape, and I look forward to working with the team to unlock its next phase of growth,” Mr Anson said in a statement issued to Sky News.

Andy Dawson, bd-capital’s co-founder and managing partner, said Mr Anson’s experience in global sports commerce made him the right choice to head Sportscape.

Since his departure as the BOA boss was announced during the summer, Mr Anson had agreed to work with another bd-capital-backed company, Science In Sport, by joining its board.

His successor as Team GB chief has yet to be announced.