The potential listing of Shein is a test of London’s allure

There’s a lot on the line. The LSE needs fast-growing companies to list there but also wants to avoid being seen as a dumping-ground for contentious firms. By becoming a public company Shein means to subject itself to more intensive levels of scrutiny. Each would hope to burnish the other’s reputation. The risk is that the shine comes off them both. “It’s a fertile environment for something bad to happen,” says one analyst.