Which are the most popular cities for roadshows, and what are the regional preferences?
New York remains the most popular city for roadshows, with nearly three quarters of companies globally having visited in the past year. London and Boston are again the next two most-visited cities, with the percentage of companies visiting London dropping slightly from 2018, while those visiting Boston have increased in the past year.
These three cities are the only ones visited by a majority of companies polled.
The next five cities were all visited by at least a third of companies. Six of the top 10 cities are in North America, with the remaining four all situated in Europe. Hong Kong, which was among the top 10 most-visited cities in 2018, has fallen out of the top 10 in 2019 and is currently the 13th most-visited city. Singapore has jumped ahead of Hong Kong to become the most-visited city in Asia.
North American cities account for nine of the top 20 most-visited cities globally, while European cities account for eight of the remaining destinations. Tokyo is the 20th city on the list and the third Asian city to feature in the top 20.
More companies have visited Stockholm in the past year than previously, but the general trend for European cities is to have seen fewer visitors in 2019. As a result, Milan and Copenhagen have dropped out of the top 20 this year, to be replaced by US cities Denver and Baltimore.
Roadshow activity for North American companies is predominantly domestic. More than eight in 10 North American companies visited New York in the past year, while three quarters visited Boston. Chicago and San Francisco are the next most-visited cities and Toronto is the popular city for North American companies to visit in Canada. London is the only city outside of North America to feature in the top 10.
London clearly remains the most popular city for European companies to travel to, with more than 87 percent visiting in the past year. New York is the next most-visited city, while almost two thirds of European companies traveled to Paris for roadshows. Half of the top 10 cities most visited by European companies are in North America.
Asia’s two main investment hubs – Hong Kong and Singapore – share top spot as the most-visited cities for roadshows among Asian companies. Tokyo is the only other Asian city to feature in the top 10. Of the seven remaining cities most visited by Asian companies, four are in North America and three are in Europe.
New York is the most popular destination for small-cap companies and is the only city visited by a majority of small-cap companies in the past year. Boston and London are in joint-second place with more than a third of companies visiting them. Seven of the top 10 cities most visited by small-cap firms are in North America with the other three in Europe.
New York is also the most-visited city among mid-cap companies, with nearly three quarters traveling there for roadshows in the past year. London is the second-most popular destination and Boston third. There are four European cities in the top 10 most-visited cities for mid-cap companies, one more than for small caps.
London is the most-visited city for large caps, with eight in 10 such companies traveling there for roadshows over the past year. New York and Boston are the other two cities visited by at least a majority of large-cap companies. Hong Kong and Singapore are in joint-ninth place, the only instances where Asian destinations feature in the top 10 most-visited cities for companies of any cap size.
Boston and New York are joint top among mega-caps, with both having been visited by more than nine in 10 mega-cap firms in the past year. London was a roadshow destination for more than eight in 10 mega-cap companies and all of the top nine were visited by a majority of such companies. Six of the top 10 cities are North American and four European.
London once again tops the list as the favorite city to visit, with 25 percent of respondents citing it as their preferred destination. North American cities New York, Boston and Toronto are also on the list, as well as the two prime Asian destinations: Hong Kong and Singapore.