Paralegal

European equity management platform Ledgy has hired Svein Petter Undheim, an executive with almost two decades’ experience in enterprise share plan management, as the company’s first Head of Financial Reporting.As companies around the world distribute equity to more employees, it becomes more complex to manage the accounting, reporting and compliance implications. Companies approaching inflection points such as internationalisation, IPOs or acquisitions must be confident their equity and share plan management is compliant with regulations wherever they operate.Svein’s hire comes as Ledgy builds out its leading suite of reporting tools, which allow companies to complete filings to tax authorities and manage international accounting more quickly and easily. Recently, Ledgy launched share-based payments reporting compliant with IFRS 2 accounting guidelines for its Enterprise customer segment.Svein joins Ledgy from Computershare, where he served as Head of Financial Reporting Products from 2018 following Computershare’s acquisition of Equatex, where he was Financial Reporting Competence Center head. He joined Equatex, formerly the equity and share plan business of UBS, in 2015 shortly after Equatex’s acquisition of Accurate Equity, where he latterly served as Chief Product and Business Development Officer.Ledgy CEO Yoko Spirig said: “I’m excited to welcome Svein to Ledgy. His extensive experience solving complex equity challenges for mature businesses in Europe and beyond will help us accelerate our work building best-in-class financial reporting and compliance infrastructure for our customers.“Ledgy already works with some of the world’s most sophisticated and innovative tech companies, such as Getir, Tide, Motorway and Airwallex. As our customers grow and scale internationally, they confront new challenges around international accounting and financial reporting

New research from equity management platform Ledgy reveals that almost three-quarters (72%) of UK tech companies would prefer to IPO in the UK over any other destination, despite recent headwinds.The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has faced significant challenges over the past 12 months, with the fewest new IPOs since the 2008-09 financial crisis and multiple UK-listed companies, such as CRH and Marex, opting to list shares in the US.But Ledgy’s State of Equity and Ownership 2024 report reveals that a healthy majority of British companies are prepared to list in the UK over any other destination, offsetting fears that the LSE could see a mass exodus to other exchanges and potentially restoring hope of a revitalised UK IPO environment in the years ahead.Ledgy, which surveyed 2,500 companies across 10 different markets for the State of Equity and Ownership 2024, found that events in the last year had led to more than one in five companies (21%) deprioritising IPO plans. The macroeconomic environment was the most commonly cited factor stopping companies from taking the plunge into the public markets.Other notable findings in the report include:Larger tech firms are holding off on fundraising – Only 48% of companies with over 1,000 employees had raised money in the previous 12 months, as opposed to almost 70% of smaller companies (employing between 250 and 999 people). Companies with bigger cash balances and greater access to bank facilities may have retreated from equity financing to prevent excessive dilution and avoid disclosing any valuation cut.‘Down rounds’ more than twice as common in Europe as the US – 22% of the funding rounds raised in Europe last year saw the fundraising company undergo a valuation cut, more than twice the level seen in the US (9%).UK companies are failing to educate more junior employees on vital financial information. While 82% of C-suite executives in the UK know their company’s latest valuation, less than a third (29%) of junior (non-manager) employees have the same understanding.Yoko Spirig, co-founder & CEO at Ledgy, commented: “Although it’s a tough time for companies thinking about going public anywhere, London listings have suffered more than most in the last year. So London Stock Exchange bosses should be relieved that for most UK companies, London is still the preferred destination for a stock market listing.“That said, our finding that the macroeconomic environment was the biggest factor putting companies off an IPO suggests that we need further softening of inflation and interest rates through 2024 for the tide to really start turning.“Inflation, interest rates and investor sentiment have all played a part as many companies have experienced valuation cuts in the last 12 months. But it’s interesting to observe that the ‘down round’ phenomenon was twice as prevalent in Europe compared to the US.“Meanwhile, our data finds that larger companies (>1,000 people) held back from fundraising to a greater extent than their smaller peers, suggesting that the pivot away from ‘growth at all costs’ is real.“Private companies need to know that stock exchanges will have the liquidity and appetite to support ambitious, innovative companies entering the public markets

This week sees capital markets tech platform Ledgy partner with startup SeaO₂ to help advance its oceanic carbon capture tech. And it might be the smallest funding amount we've ever covered. Here's why it matters: . One-third of all global carbon emissions are bound up in our seas and oceans. Additionally, the ocean's carbon concentration is more than 150 times higher than in the air, making oceanic carbon capture technology a potent weapon in the fight against climate change. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Amsterdam, SeaO₂ focuses on ocean-based carbon dioxide (CO₂) removal technology