- Relx fell 14 per cent, Sage dropped 10 per cent and Pearson slid nearly 8 per cent.
- London Stock Exchange Group lost 13 per cent as investors reacted to AI disruption risks.
- Thomson Reuters shares plunged 18 per cent in New York trading.
A wave of selling hit UK publishing, data and software stocks after US artificial intelligence startup Anthropic unveiled a new tool aimed at corporate legal departments, raising concerns that AI could erode margins across the sector.
Anthropic, the company behind chatbot Claude, said its latest product can automate tasks such as contract review, non-disclosure agreement triage, compliance workflows, legal briefings and templated responses. The announcement appeared to unsettle investors who fear AI tools may bypass traditional information providers.
Shares in Relx dropped 14 per cent, while Sage fell 10 per cent in London. Pearson declined nearly 8 per cent and Wolters Kluwer slid 13 per cent in Amsterdam. London Stock Exchange Group lost 13 per cent and Experian fell 7 per cent amid concerns about the potential impact on data-driven business models.
In the US, Thomson Reuters shares plunged 18 per cent following the news.
Margins under pressure?
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, reportedly said companies including Relx, London Stock Exchange Group, Experian, Sage, Informa and Pearson were “smashed” after Anthropic unveiled its new product, as quoted in a news report. He added that the concern would be that such tools could reduce margins or, in a worst-case scenario, disintermediate these companies entirely.
Morgan Stanley analysts also flagged intensifying competition. In a note on Thomson Reuters, they reportedly said Anthropic’s move into the legal space heightens competition and could represent a potential negative for incumbents, as quoted in a news report.
The sell-off reversed earlier gains in the wider market. The FTSE 100 had touched a record high earlier in the session but was dragged into negative territory as heavyweight stocks declined.
Anthropic said its legal-focused plugin does not provide formal legal advice. “AI-generated analysis should be reviewed by licensed attorneys before being relied upon for legal decisions,” the company reportedly said.
Beyond legal services, Anthropic also announced a range of open-source tools designed to automate professional activities such as sales and customer support, signalling a broader push into enterprise workflows.
Fallout for fund managers
The market reaction also dealt a blow to Nick Train, one of the UK’s best-known fund managers. His firm, Lindsell Train, manages the Finsbury Growth & Income Trust, whose four largest holdings include Sage, Experian, London Stock Exchange Group and Relx.
The trust’s shares fell more than 5 per cent during the sell-off. Train reportedly apologised for the “dire” performance of the investment trust at its annual meeting last month, after surviving a vote on its future, as quoted in a news report. The FTSE 250-listed trust is currently the worst-performing UK equity income trust over one year and five years.
Anthropic was founded in 2021 by Dario Amodei and other former OpenAI employees. Its rapid expansion into professional services now appears to be testing investor confidence in some of the UK’s largest listed information and software groups.
Whether the reaction proves short-lived or marks a deeper shift in how markets value data businesses may depend on how quickly AI tools gain real-world traction. For now, investors appear unwilling to wait and see.
