GTCO debuts on London Stock Exchange with 36.4 billion shares

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), the financial services group valued at ₦1.39 trillion, commenced trading of its entire 36.4 billion ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) today. This strategic move makes it the first West African financial institution to have a dual listing of its ordinary shares on both its domestic and the London bourse, as it races to meet a stringent new capital requirement for Nigerian lenders.

The listing, which saw the company’s shares begin trading under the ticker “GTHC,” is a pivotal step in GTCO’s efforts to bolster its capital base. The financial powerhouse recently secured $105 million from an equity offering to institutional investors, exceeding its target by 5%. This infusion of foreign capital is crucial for its plan to elevate its core capital to the half-a-trillion naira minimum mandated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by March 2026.

The capital raise, which concluded last Thursday, priced 2.3 billion ordinary shares at ₦70 each, a 15% discount to the stock’s opening price that day in Lagos.

“This offering and transition to a full listing on the London Stock Exchange’s main market represents a pivotal moment in GTCO’s growth story,” the company stated in a regulatory filing. Following the cancellation of its global depository receipts (GDRs), GTCO intends to change its LSE ticker symbol to “GTCO” to align with its Nigerian Stock Exchange identity.

The shift from GDRs to a full ordinary share listing is designed to enhance liquidity and appeal to a broader spectrum of global investors. The company noted that the GDRs, which have been its mode of trading in London, were favored primarily by institutional investors, thereby limiting transaction flows.

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With this landmark listing, GTCO joins the ranks of other Nigerian corporate giants, such as energy firm Seplat and telecommunications leader Airtel Africa, that have previously established a presence on the London market to tap into a deeper pool of international capital.

The move comes as Nigerian banks with international operations are under pressure to meet the CBN’s revised minimum capital requirements. In January 2025, GTCO completed the first tranche of its capital-raising program, securing ₦209.41 billion ($135 million) from both retail and institutional investors. The London listing represents a significant continuation of this capital-raising drive ahead of the 2026 deadline.