When it comes to public companies being bought up by private firms, the benefits are many. Private buyers are prepared to pay more for the business, pay executives higher salaries and are subject to less scrutiny and regulation.
Mr Soames argued the country needed to be “grown up” about some of these issues if the UK wanted to retain the world’s best companies.
“If you want to have international companies here you’ve got to allow them to pay management what they think that they need to be paid and not be squeamish,” he said.
The CBI’s report welcomed some of the work done already to bolster UK stock markets.
The previous Conservative government loosened some listing requirements and Reeves has plans to consolidate some public sector pension funds into superfunds.
Several of the biggest pension and insurance firms have voluntarily signed up to invest more in UK private assets.
But there’s little evidence that has moved the needle of the UK investment industry, which only invests 4% of its assets in publicly-traded British companies.
A Treasury spokesperson told the BBC that the Chancellor would next week set out more detail on how the government intends to “ruthlessly exploit our global advantages”.
“This includes continued reform to ensure our capital markets are competitive and at the forefront of modern public markets,” they said.
While London raised three times more equity capital than the next three European exchanges combined next year, there is more to do to ensure we attract the most promising companies to list on our shores.
The challenge is not just to lead the investment horse to water but to make it drink out of your own pool.