Nanoco Group PLC (LSE:NANO), the Manchester-based nanomaterials technology company, saw its shares plunge 41% to 4.04p after announcing plans to cancel its listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and re-register as a private company.
It said the move would save around £700,000 a year in listing costs, extending the company's cash runway as it pursues commercialisation of its technology.
Nanoco had cash and cash equivalents of £10.1 million as at 19 May and said it is not experiencing financial difficulty, but argued the savings and freed-up management time would be better directed towards its strategic objectives.
The delisting requires approval from at least 75% of votes cast at a general meeting scheduled for 19 June 2026.
If given the green light, the last day of dealings on the main market would be 17 July, with cancellation taking effect on 20 July.
A matched bargain facility provided by JP Jenkins, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), would offer shareholders a limited mechanism to trade shares after delisting, though the board cautioned that there is no guarantee of liquidity.
The announcement follows the collapse earlier this year of a process to find a buyer for the group's trading business, which was terminated in January.
Nanoco said it still believes it would ultimately be better served as part of a larger entity and that operating as a private company would allow it to pursue a future sale unencumbered by the disclosure obligations of a public listing.
During the sale process, the company made operational progress, including extending a joint development agreement with one Asian chemical customer by three years and commencing a new agreement with a second.
Nanoco also received proceeds from a successful litigation against LG Electronics, concluded in November 2025, and reached a separate settlement with Shoei Chemical and Shoei Electronic Materials.
The board has already cut costs significantly, with four board members departing since February, reducing gross monthly cash operating costs to between £300,000 and £400,000.
Directors acknowledged that the UK public market environment for small companies with pre-commercialisation technology remains highly challenging, characterised by persistent undervaluation and limited liquidity, particularly where there is significant customer concentration risk.