Building Resilient Trade Networks for 2026

As an outcome of the introduction of the UKLR sourcebook in July 2024, both the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and FTSE Russell made consequential modifications to their guidelines. In July 2024, the LSE verified changes to its Admission and Disclosure Standards to reflect the collapse of the previous premium and standard listing segments into the brand-new business business category.

It then provided a summary and FAQs verifying its view when the final UKLR sourcebook was published in July 2024. Among the procedures proposed as part of the Edinburgh Reforms in December 2022 was the facility of the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce, chaired by Charlie Geffen. The goal of the taskforce was to think about the possible benefits of the UK transferring to a T +1 securities settlement cycle and lay out how this change could be implemented.

On 19 February 2025, the UK government announced it accepted the recommendation and the UK market means to transfer to a T +1 settlement cycle on 11 October 2027. One of the suggestions from the UK Secondary Capital Raising Review led to the establishment in July 2022 of the Digitisation Taskforce, chaired by Sir Douglas Flint.

Leveraging Corporate Funding for Mid-Market Firms

In July 2023, the taskforce published an Interim Report (read our summary here) which made a variety of recommendations, consisting of: legislation should be advanced, and business short articles of association changed, as quickly as practicable to stop the issuance of brand-new paper share certificates; the government must advance legislation to need dematerialisation of all share certificates at a future date; the federal government needs to talk to issuer and investor representatives on the preferred personality of "recurring" paper share interests and whether a time frame must be enforced for the recognition of untraced Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs); andintermediaries should have an obligation, as a condition of participation in the cleaning and settlement system, to put in location common technology that enables them to react to UBO demands from companies within a really short time frame.

ANSR July UK PRs

Digitisation would target listed companies with a view to minimizing expenses and waste, and simplifying investor communication. The report proposes extra steps to make sure that UBOs within the intermediated securities chain would have the ability to work out investor rights that are presently just ensured for signed up shareholders, in addition to steps to enhance communication between business and UBOs.