Dr Martens PLC (LSE:DOCS)'s latest cut to profit guidance ensured the curse of the 'Covid' floats continued taking another chunk of credibility away from the so-called "bad bunch."
But as the share price of the boot maker, THG and Deliveroo sit firmly below their flotation prices is it bad luck, bad management or further evidence of London’s fading supremacy as the must-list capital of the world.
In truth it maybe a bit of all three. Listing in and around the timing of a global pandemic does go in the unfortunate column with the subsequebt hit to economic growth.
But is it the sole reason for the collapsing share prices since the heady days of their stock market debuts?
Dr Martens floated in January 2021 at the lofty price of 370p and has hit the dizzy heights of over 500p at stages in its trading life.
However, it now rests at less than a third of that value, while THG has fared even worse, losing over 80% of its value since its market debut in 2020. Deliveroo has lost around 75% of its market capitalisation.
The boss of The Hut Group sounded wounded from his experience.
Commenting last week, chief executive Matt Moulding said he 'wouldn't recommend' listing on the London Stock Exchange, having seen its shares fall more than 80% since it floated in 2020.
'The way we've been treated since joining the LSE has done nothing but add fuel to our insatiable fighting spirit,” he added.
'It's certainly not an experience I'd recommend to anyone, but it's been a decent test of our start-up mentality.'
Perhaps herein lies some of the problems. The City can be an unforgiving place, scrutiny is fierce and may not be the place for a “ start-up” mentality to thrive.
It expects good management, well run companies, detailed and accurate financial information, and, yes growth.
In THG’s case, a profit or two wouldn’t go a miss.
So bad were things at Deliveroo, it was dubbed Flopperoo, while others plumped for Deliver-oops.
Alongside issues of over expansion to try and compete with Just Eat and Uber Eats which caused costs to rocket and margins to fall, investors also questioned the treatment of the group's army of delivery couriers.
The self-proclaimed “future of food” was left running to Amazon for a rescue deal.
All three companies have been dogged by repeated profit warnings, trading disruptions and an over promise, under deliver culture.
While the allure of the London market has lost of some its shine that is hardly the fault of the Square Mile.
Sticking to financial promises, is as important as delivering a pair of boots or an on line delivery, it instills confidence and builds trust.
Sadly, for these three companies, repeated failures to do this has left credibility in tatters and the market questioning what quite to believe.
That’s not bad luck or London’s fault. Sometimes it pays to look closer to home.