UK companies need to wake up from their status quo bias. We have had two years now of the best of British business either being snapped up by private equity or choosing to list in the US or elsewhere. In the past few weeks, Darktrace has agreed a buyout, Flutter has moved its main listing to New York and now there is talk of Shell following suit. It certainly paints a bleak picture of things to come.Throughout this period, there have been repeated calls for the government or regulator to step in and ‘revitalise’ public markets. And yet no one seems to want to address the elephant in the room. That the City and companies themselves might be the ones that need to change (as well).Listed companies need to stop blaming the government or Brexit for low valuations and instead look at their own practices with a clear, unbiased eye.Step one - what determines the value of a public company? The price at which the buyers and sellers in the market agree to pay. How do you make that price as accurate as possible? Have a large number of buyers and sellers in the market (in other words, investors). So...