Tesco’s LON:TSCO arrival on the OTCQX Best Market is unlikely to trouble the tills in Cheshunt. But it does say something about how Europe’s corporate heavyweights are thinking about capital markets, and about the quiet role OTC Markets Group is carving out as a transatlantic facilitator rather than a rival exchange.
OTC Markets, operator of regulated trading venues for some 12,000 US and international securities, has welcomed the UK’s largest grocer to OTCQX, its top tier. For US investors, Tesco’s admission offers transparent access to a familiar consumer brand without the friction of trading directly on the London Stock Exchange. For Tesco, it provides visibility in the world’s deepest pool of capital without the cost, regulatory burden or distraction of a full US listing.
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This is not an isolated case. In 2025 alone, a roster of Europe’s corporate establishment — London Stock Exchange Group, Aviva, Compass, Reckitt Benckiser, Bayer and OMV — has opted for OTCQX trading. These are not growth-hungry minnows seeking validation abroad, but mature companies with primary listings, established governance and global operations. Their migration hints at a structural issue closer to home.
What’s wrong with European capital markets?
European capital markets have struggled to shake off a persistent valuation discount relative to the US. Liquidity is fragmented, domestic retail participation is thin, and institutional investors increasingly look across the Atlantic for scale and growth. The prevailing narrative has been stark: to attract US capital, companies must decamp from local exchanges and submit to the expense and scrutiny of New York.
OTC Markets is positioning itself as a third way. Its “List Local, Trade Global” model allows companies to remain anchored in their home markets while making their shares more accessible to US investors via regulated, transparent trading.
Unlike a US exchange listing, OTCQX does not require SEC registration or a wholesale rewrite of reporting frameworks. Instead, it relies on robust disclosure standards tied to the issuer’s primary market, supplemented by US-facing transparency.
For Tesco, the benefits are incremental but logical. The grocer already enjoys a global shareholder base and a sizeable US ADR following. OTCQX trading improves liquidity and price discovery for those investors, potentially broadening demand without management having to spend time on roadshows or compliance teams navigating dual regimes. It is capital markets plumbing rather than corporate reinvention.
The appeal of OTC Markets Group
For OTC Markets Group, the appeal is cumulative. Each blue-chip European issuer enhances the credibility of its top tier, reinforcing the argument that OTCQX is not merely a venue for obscure microcaps, but a legitimate gateway for international names.
The company, itself quoted on OTCQX, has built a business less around listing fees and more around data, disclosure standards and market infrastructure that broker-dealers depend on.
Critics may note that OTC trading volumes remain modest compared with primary exchanges. OTCQX is not about replacing London, Frankfurt or Paris. Its value lies in complementing them, capturing marginal liquidity, improving access and chipping away at the barriers that discourage US investors from engaging with foreign equities.
Tesco tackling Europe’s valuation problem
In that sense, Tesco’s debut is less about supermarkets and more about market structure. As Europe grapples with how to revive domestic capital markets and stem the pull of New York, OTCQX offers a pragmatic workaround. It does not solve Europe’s valuation problem. But it allows companies to tap US capital without abandoning home, a small adjustment, perhaps, but one increasingly in demand.
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