Linklaters advise Wise plc on the UK’s first direct listing

Linklaters has advised Wise plc on the UK’s first direct listing and what is expected to be the highest profile flotation on the London Stock Exchange this year.

Wise plc is the first company to pursue a direct listing in the UK, allowing Wise to come to market by listing on the London Stock Exchange without raising capital through a new issuance of shares as per a standard IPO. Linklaters has further assisted Wise plc in structuring and implementing the first widely held dual-class share structure of its kind in the UK, giving all pre-listing shareholders the opportunity to hold enhanced voting rights on a 10:1 basis.

The listing was kick started by a three-hour bespoke opening auction for certain of Wise plc’s listed Class A Ordinary Shares, facilitated by the London Stock Exchange.

The Linklaters team was led by corporate partners James Wootton and Mike Bienenfeld, senior US associate, Igor Rogovoy and associate, Patrick Fincham.

James Wootton, Linklaters corporate partner, commented: “We are thrilled to have worked on this landmark, first of a kind transaction in the Fintech sector, working alongside Wise to structure the first direct listing in the UK and a highly bespoke dual-class share structure, in doing so playing a central role in the increasing drive for innovation in the UK listing market.”

The transaction has the potential to pave the way for more tech issuers to come to market by way of a direct listing and to use innovative dual-class share structures to meet their commercial goals when listing. It also further cements Linklaters’ reputation for working on the largest, most complex and record-breaking transactions in the market.