Shein is expected to announce the London Stock Exchange as the destination for its initial public offer in a matter of days, according to reports.
Directors of the Singapore-based fast-fashion behemoth are close to deciding on London over New York for their listing, the Daily Mail's This Is Money reported.
London is also reported by the Times to be the frontrunner for an IPO that is aiming for a valuation just north of £70 billion, which would put it in the LSE's top six.
The Shein board has concluded that a US application is not likely to be accepted by authorities there, according to reports last week.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt met with Shein chairman Donald Tang last month to persuade him to commit to what would be one of London’s biggest corporate flotations.
The Square Mile has tweaked listing rules twice in the past few years to help attract tech company flotations as part of a wider set of reforms to keep London a globally competitive financial centre after Brexit, but this has not yet coincided with any influx of new issues, with not a single IPO completed in the fourth quarter and 2024 remaining deathly quiet so far.
Last year, Shein sold over £1.3 billion in the UK, according to GlobalData, giving it just over 2% of the UK’s clothing market.