UK in push to relax tech listing rules A push to make it easier for high-growth companies to list in London will be launched by the government Thursday in an attempt to bolster the capital as Europe's technology hub. Ministers will put forward contentious proposals including relaxing the listing rules on the London Stock Exchange, allowing companies to list as little as 10 per cent of their business, down from a current requirement for 25 per cent. The government also will propose that high-growth companies must present accounts for fewer past years than three they do now and have less stringent criteria for the composition of their boards. The measures would have to be approved by the Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, and are likely to be strongly opposed by some institutional investors who fear such a move would weaken corporate governance. But the government is throwing its weight behind the measures. It is keen to avoid losing more technology IPOs to the US, following a drought in main market technology listings since early 2010. The proposed changes come after the US government passed the JumpStart our Business StartUps (Jobs) Act earlier this year, which cut the amount of freely-tradeable shares a company must have. Index Ventures, a venture capital company, has been instrumental in lobbying the government to follow the US. Its calls have come amid a growing backlog of UK-based, venture-backed technology companies, such as Just Eat, Wonga, King.com and Moshi Monsters, which are becoming big enough to consider a stock market listing, but which are wary of the UK stock market. Many European technology businesses are also opting to list on Nasdaq rather than on the LSE. Avast, the Czech Republic-based antivirus software company, for example, considered London but ultimately took the business to Nasdaq. The speed at which Downing Street has responded to Index's campaign, which began in May this year, underscores the importance attached to the technology sector, seen as one of the most promising generators of growth and jobs for the economy. For many investors, however, the proposals to lower the free float requirement will be controversial. Groups as the Association of British Insurers and the National Association of Pension Funds believe small free-floats can lead to increased volatility in a company's shares by reducing trading liquidity and make controlling shareholders too dominant at the expense of minority investors. It is expected that the easing of the free float rules will be limited to high-growth businesses, and a consultation process would take place before any changes would be made. Details of the proposal will be unveiled on Thursday morning at an event in Tech City, the cluster of technology companies around London's Shoreditch whose growth the government has been keen to foster. A recent survey by Intellect, the UK's IT industry trade association, indicated that in contrast to the caution in the wider economy, more than 80 per cent of technology companies were planning to hire new employees in the next year. Politicians have rolled out the red carpet to technology companies in a number of ways over the last few years, including making it easier for foreign entrepreneurs to get UK visas, and introducing tax relief from next year for makers of computer games. In his last Budget speech, Chancellor George Osborne's said his ambition was to make the UK "the technology centre of Europe."