Guaranty Trust Holding Company made history on Thursday by becoming the first West African financial institution to have its shares listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The development has made GTCO to be dual-listed on the LSE and the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

At a ceremony to mark the listing at the LSE, stakeholders highlighted the transformation that this transaction would bring to Nigeria and the African continent.

Earlier in the month, GTCO disclosed that it would be raising about $100m from the international capital market as well as listing its securities on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. In a corporate disclosure filed on the NGX on Wednesday, the lender revealed that its entire issued share capital, consisting of 36,425,229,514 shares, has been admitted to the equity shares (international commercial companies secondary listing) category of the Official List of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority and is trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market for listed securities.

GTCO cancelled its Global Depository Receipts representing a certain security (depositary receipt) category of the Official List of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, and in place of the GDRs, the company’s ordinary shares were listed on the LSE main market.

Speaking at the official listing ceremony, the Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, Segun Agbaje, noted that investors can now benefit from the best of both worlds with this listing.

He said, “We have delisted the GDR, which means it is now listed on the secondary market like the new shares. It means that anytime you want to raise capital, you can come back to the London Stock Exchange. We have created another backroom for you to raise capital. That is why we call it the best of both worlds; you have the Nigerian Exchange Limited, and we have the LSE. We want to unlock Nigeria and Africa. We wanted to see whether the macro story of Nigeria has changed and whether you can go out and raise money in the international market.

It is always good to have options.

“I want to start by thanking the London Stock Exchange. I want to thank everybody who has joined us today. It always reminds me that it is never an easy road. It’s always the right road that gets you where you’re going. I think, for my board and all those who have been with me, one of the most important things to us is always to play by the rules. Tell it like it is, and then we will live with whatever the outcome is.”

According to the GTCO GCEO, the company has plans to use part of the capital raised from outside the country to boost its expansion in international markets especially African countries.

Specifically, he said plans were being made to increase GTCO branch networks in its international markets.

He also spoke about ensuring better returns on investments for both its local and international shareholders.

The Head of International Primary Markets, London Stock Exchange Group, Tom Attenborough, in his comments, noted that this was a welcome back to the LSE for GTCO, which first listed its GDR in 2007.

Attenborough said, “We are really delighted to welcome you all to open the market to celebrate the recent fundraising and, of course, the listing of your ordinary shares. You know, there is photographic evidence of the original Global Depository Receipt listing back in 2007. A few more of you, of course, were here in 2017 at the facility celebrating the 10th anniversary of GDR.

“Over those years since the original listing, you have continued to absolutely blaze a trail as a business. And you know, we’re here to celebrate that, I think, as much as the listing itself today. We look back to 2007; you were the first Nigerian company and the first African bank to list GDRs on the London Stock Exchange. Now, fast forward 18 years, and you’re the first West African financial institution to have its shares dual-listed on London and, of course, the NGX, with our friends here from the Nigeria Stock Exchange here today.”

He commended the lender for blazing the trail to transform the proposition from GTBank, a Nigeria-only bank, to now a financing powerhouse operating across the continent, living up to the motto of being truly international and most certainly proudly African.

Chief Executive Officer of NGX, Mr. Jude Chiemeka, in his comments, noted that the strong governance outlook of the company had attracted investors and that this dual listing would strengthen GTCO’s position.

He said, “From a governance perspective, I think GTCO has demonstrated a strong governance structure. Even as a listed entity on the NGX, you see that a lot of internationals buy their shares because of the heightened level of corporate governance the company undergoes. And now that they are listed on the London Stock Exchange, we see it as a good thing in terms of the level of governance that will go through here. But beyond that, we think it will also help create more liquidity for the shares that we have. We have Seplat, and we have Airtel Africa. You can see the level of liquidity those companies continue to enjoy.

“We congratulate GTCO for taking this initiative to list on the London Stock Exchange. We believe that it will position them to attract more international capital, which is, at the end of the day, the essence of exchange listing.

“You will recall that the bank had done a GDR that led to the metamorphosis of this initiative. What GTCO has done is good, not just for the exchange but for the entire country. It puts Africa in a good light because it’s a proudly Nigerian company with an international focus. And we do have a lot of companies, even in the banks, that also have an international focus. So, we think that this will open up more opportunities in that space.”

Also speaking, Managing Director, Capital Markets, Chapel Hill Denham, the Nigerian transaction adviser to the GTCO on the LSE transaction, Mr. Lanre Buluro, said the listing is transformational for Nigeria’s capital market.

He thanked GTCO for giving Chapel Hill Denham the opportunity to serve as the Nigerian Financial Adviser on the capital raise and listing on the LSE.

Meanwhile, GTCO has listed its public offer of 2,288,250,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N70.00 per share.

According to a market bulletin signed by the Head of the Issuer Regulation Department, Godstime Iwenekhai, with the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc have now increased from 34,136,979,514 to 36,425,229,514 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.