Shein is eyeing a potential London listing which would value the Chinese fast fashion firm at more than £50 billion.

Reports suggest Shein is preparing to file a prospectus with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority for approval, with the float potentially going ahead as early as this week.

The firm has been courted for a London IPO after facing regulatory hurdles in the US, which has become extremely hostile to Chinese companies in recent years.

Shein’s executive chairman Donald Tang has met with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as well as several frontbench Labour MPs including Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, in recent months.

If it were to join boohoo and Asos – similar companies, reliant upon third-party suppliers and promoted by social media influencers, but far smaller – on the London Stock Exchange, it would be seen as a boost for the UK’s public markets.

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However as with boohoo, Shein has been criticised over practices found in its supply chain. In Shein’s case, it has faced allegations around the use of forced labour in its supplier network, which consists of thousands of companies. 

Meanwhile, it has launched a resale platform for items in the US and – as of this week – France, which is intended to soften concerns over the impact its cheap clothes have upon the environment. It is expected to launch the platform in the UK and Germany later this year.

Shein posted profits of more than £1.6 billion in 2023, up from £554 million the year before.

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