London Stock Exchange suspends trading in 28 Russian companies

LSE says its own operations in Russia amount to 1 per cent of its global income (PA)

The London Stock Exchange said it has suspended trading in 28 companies linked to Russia, including gas giant Gazprom and the country’s second biggest lender Sberbank.

The LSE halted transactions in the shares with immediate effect on Thursday morning after prices plummeted following sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This has been based on sanctions and the ability to run an orderly market,” LSE boss David Schwimmer said in a statement.

He warned that more companies’ shares could be suspended if they are affected by future sanctions.

Other large firms affected so far include energy company EN+ and oil major Lukoil. EN+ is partly owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and has paid Conservative peer Lord Barker as much as £6m a year in his role as executive chair.

Sanctions announcements are taking an increasing toll on Russian businesses. Last week, a subsidiary of Russia’s second largest bank, VTB, was suspended on the London Stock Exchange as a result of sanctions introduced following the invasion.

Sberbank announced on Wednesday that it would close its European arm after depositors rushed to withdraw cash.

Billionaire oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven have had their shares in the $22bn (£17bn) conglomerate LetterOne, which owns Holland & Barrett, “frozen”. The pair were hit with sanctions last week.

However, a number of Russian companies, including Roman Abramovich-backed Evraz, continue to trade on the stock market. Mr Abramovich hastily put Chelsea Football Club up for sale this week with a price tag of £3bn.

Even Russia’s oil and gas companies, which have been excluded from sanctions lists, are experiencing problems as customers refuse to accept delivery of shipments they fear may be sanctioned by the time they arrive.

The LSE reported a 6.1 per cent jump in total income to £6bn for 2021. Adjusted pre-tax profits increased by 26.8 per cent to £2.3bn for the 12 months to the end of December, compared with the previous year.

LSE said its own operations in Russia amounted to 1 per cent of its global income and that it was “actively engaging with regulators and authorities on all relevant sanctions and taking appropriate actions”.

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