A “springboard” market for small companies will be launched by the middle of this year, the head of Euronext Dublin expects, as the operator of the Irish Stock Exchange seeks to reboot listings.
Daryl Byrne, chief executive of Euronext Dublin, said development work on establishing a Euronext Access market in Dublin, similar to ones operated by the wider Euronext Group in Paris, Brussels and Lisbon, was completed at the end of January.
The exchange plans to wait until at least two initial companies – most likely from the technology sector – are ready to take the plunge before launching the platform. That is expected to occur in the first half of this year, he told The Irish Times on Wednesday, adding that there has been a “good level of inquiries” since Euronext Dublin confirmed its plans last year.
Euronext Access markets are designed especially for start-ups and small companies that wish to join a stock exchange to finance growth and gain the reputational advantages of listing but do not meet the criteria for admission to main or even junior Euronext Growth markets.
The hope is that some companies joining a Euronext Access market could ultimately uplist to Euronext Growth or, in time, the main market.
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Only three companies have floated on Dublin in the past six years. In that time, a number of companies have exited the market through take-private deals and, more recently, decisions by former Iseq heavyweights CRH, Flutter Entertainment and Smurfit Westrock to ditch their Irish listings and move their main quotations to New York.
The various Euronext Access markets currently have 173 listed companies with a combined market value of €11.8 billion. More than three-quarters of them have a market value of €10 million or less.
Rather than offering continuous trading in listed companies when the stock market is open – as with businesses listed on the junior or main market – Euronext Access markets hold two actions a day, at midday and the end of a session.
Market observers expect that a concession offered in Budget 2025 for companies to receive tax relief of up to €1 million on flotation expenses will help the establishment of a Euronext Access market in Dublin.
Government plans to introduce a stamp duty exemption on share trading in Irish small and medium-sized enterprises – subject to state-aid considerations – should also boost potential investor interest in companies listed on the platform, they added.
Officials from Euronext and Irish stockbroking, law and accountancy firms had set up an ad-hoc group – called Irish Equity Market Forum – to draft a pre-budget submission last year to pitch for government support to reboot the domestic equities market.
Mr Byrne said the parties that took part in the forum are now looking to set up a formal representative body in the coming months.
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