A presentation of METLEN (formerly Mytilineos) and the head of the company, Evangelos Mytilineos, was hosted in yesterday’s edition of the Sunday Times newspaper, in view of the introduction of the company to the London Stock Exchange.

He says Mytileneos’ top priority is to attract British interest as he tries to land one of the biggest listings in recent years on the London market.

The publication mentions, among other things, the following:

Athens-listed METLEN Energy & Metals is the largest domestic company in Greece and generates around €6.35bn (£5.44bn) a year, mainly from building energy infrastructure such as solar and wind parks, and from aluminum production. This new listing would also be a boost for the FTSE, which has faced a decline in new listings and an exodus to the US over the past year.

The company employs 6,500 people in 40 countries, including the UK, Australia, Chile and Canada. Its energy business, which accounts for two-thirds of revenues, includes the construction of undersea energy cables, solar farms, wind farms and grid interconnections. It also operates an energy trading company. METLEN’s mining division is among the world’s largest producers and exporters of aluminum and alumina, with bauxite mined in Greece, and active in the production of rare earths used in semiconductors.

METLEN is the second largest retail energy provider in Greece, after the state-owned enterprise, and is now looking to expand its operations in the UK after listing on the London stock exchange. Mytileneos, 70, has hinted that he might one day try to disrupt the UK market, including Octopus Energy. “We know the job. We have the know-how… We can do it.”

Listing on the LSE will also require METLEN to be in good standing with regulatory bodies. In 2018, Mytileneos was charged with corruption over allegations that his company paid off authorities to secure a contract. He was acquitted the following year and the case was dismissed. The CEO reveals that METLEN now complies with 80% of the UK company code: “If we’re good for the UK company code, we’re good for any company code.”

The planned listing on the LSE, which will see 90% of METLEN’s shares traded in London, while 10% will remain in Athens, comes at a difficult time for the London Stock Exchange. The market has suffered from a lack of new corporate listings, while several high-profile companies, most notably Cambridge technology company Arm, have opted to list their shares in the US in search of higher valuations. However, Mytileneos remains faithful to London: “The London Stock Exchange, even if it is not in its most glorious phase, is still the LSE.”

The publication also includes statements by the governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras, who mentions about Mr. Mytilineos: “He is a very simple person – he is a hardworking person. He is not an income earner. Despite the fact that he has created this giant, he is involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. It inspires — it puts a lot of emphasis on developing human resource skills.” While on the question of a possible transfer of the headquarters to the United Kingdom, he mentions “It is now an international company, anyway. He has already left the Greek border. It therefore needs to be introduced to a much larger market. I don’t think he will leave Greece,” Stournaras says.