The threat of costly securities litigation is seen as one of the main deterrents to companies considering a stock market listing in the US, attorneys have admitted in a survey published on Tuesday.

Nearly 60 per cent of respondents to the survey of attorneys specialising in initial public offerings said the risk of securities litigation, coupled with the cost of developing infrastructure for a public company and meeting accounting standards, discouraged companies from going public in the US, according to Gavin Anderson, the US financial communications company. Richard Truesdell, of Davis Polk and Wardwell, said that, while US exchanges continued to capture a strong share of international offerings, their position was at risk.