Shein reportedly mulling selling shares to British public

Fast fashion giant Shein is understood to be considering selling its shares to the British general public as part of its controversial listing on the London Stock Exchange. Plans for such a procedure, which is being backed by the company’s bankers, including JP Morgan, are believed to be at an early stage, according to The Telegraph, which initially reported the news.

This strays from the typical set up for listings, which usually only allow individual investors to buy shares on an open market after other parties, such as banks and funds, have snapped up their own stakes.

The potential IPO, which has been valued at around 50 billion pounds, has already faced backlash from human rights organisations and UK politicians that are urging that it be halted due to scrutiny surrounding Shein’s alleged lack of transparency and resulting environmental issues.

Similar concerns had already been raised in the US, where Shein was initially planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange, a move it was ultimately forced to shelve due to retaliation from lawmakers and regulators in the region.

As such, it appeared Shein turned its full attention to the LSE, with which it was previously reported that it had confidentially filed for an IPO back in June. Evidence of such was believed to have been seen in an update with Chinese authorities regarding a change in listing venue.