Following the May 2023 consultation on the UK Corporate Governance Code (“Code”), the FRC has published a revised Code. The changes focus primarily on one area - Internal Controls whilst other changes have been kept to a...more
Following on from the consultation earlier this year, the FCA has published feedback and detailed proposals which will transform the current listing regime. The FCA is proposing to create a single listing category for UK...more
The Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) has published a revised corporate governance code (Code). The Code is still based around 10 Principles but has been updated to keep pace with evolving investor expectations, particularly...more
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) introduces a suite of wide-ranging reforms to tackle economic crime and improve transparency over corporate entities. Under the ECCTA, Companies House will have...more
Following a series of accounting and audit scandals in recent years and what has been described as a “crisis of trust”, the UK Government, regulatory bodies, and institutional investor groups have set out to reform the UK’s...more
10/12/2023
/ Audits ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Financial Reporting Council (FRC) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Institutional Investors ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Statements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UK ,
UK Regulatory Reforms
The FRC has set out its expectations, in its Annual Review of Corporate Reporting, for the coming reporting season amidst the current economic background of high inflation, high interest rates and ongoing economic...more
The FRC has published research on the influence of proxy advisors and ESG rating agencies on the actions and reporting of FTSE 350 companies and investor voting. This makes interesting reading and highlights...more
Following the government’s white paper on ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’, the FRC has published a consultation on the UK Corporate Governance Code (“Code”). ...more
An update report from the Parker Review on Ethnic Diversity highlights that 96% of FTSE 100 companies have met the target of at least one minority ethnic director on their boards. FTSE 250 companies are making progress...more
The Pre-emption Group has published a revised Statement of Principles permitting companies to disapply the statutory pre-emption rights for up to 20% (on a 10% + 10% basis) of their issued share capital in any one year. This...more
In light of broad support, the FCA is proceeding with its changes to require companies to make annual disclosure requirements on the representation of women and people from an ethnic minority background at board and executive...more
Five years on significant progress has been made in reaching the goal of “At Least One by 21” (ie. every FTSE 100 company to have at least one person from a minority ethnic group on its board). At the end of 2021, 89 FTSE 100...more
As recommended by Lord Hill, the Government has set out its policy approach to reform the UK prospectus regime. This includes separating the regulation of public offers of securities from the admission of securities to...more
In 2022, the annual reports of premium listed commercial companies should include a compliance statement setting out whether the company has made disclosures consistent with the “TCFD's recommendations and recommended...more
To assist in-scope UK companies comply with the new mandatory climate-related financial disclosures when reporting next year, the Government has published some helpful non-binding guidance.
Separately, the first report...more
Following on from the FCA’s consultation on the effectiveness of the Primary Market, the FCA has published final rules on, amongst other things, free float and minimum market capitalisation, which come into force on 3...more
12/3/2021
/ Capitalization ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Listing Standards ,
Prospectus ,
Share Classes ,
Stock Float ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
Voting Rights
The FCA has published Primary Market Bulletin No. 36 to introduce specific Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned climate-related disclosure requirements for listed companies and to set out the...more
Building on the work of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the London Stock Exchange has created a practical guide to help listed and AIM companies effectively disclose and communicate their...more
10/21/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Green Finance ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainable Business Practices ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
Due to a lack of standardised and mandatory transparency about diversity on listed company boards, particularly those outside of the FTSE 350, and in response to the demand from investors to focus on topics around ESG, the...more
Lord Hill’s review of the Listing Regime along with the Kalifa Review of UK FinTech highlighted specific elements of the listing regime that act as barriers to companies listing. According to the Lord Hill’s review, the...more
Lord Hill’s findings on the UK Listings Regime in March 2021 recognised a need for change and reform including a fundamental rethink of the current prospectus regime.
In response to this, HM Treasury is consulting on...more
7/6/2021
/ Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FSMA ,
HM Treasury ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Prospectus ,
Public Offerings ,
Securities Regulation ,
Trading Policies ,
UK
As part of the UK government’s roadmap towards mandatory climate-related disclosures across the entire UK economy by 2025, the FCA is proposing to extend the application of its new climate-related disclosure requirements to...more
6/23/2021
/ Capital Markets ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Statements ,
Listing Rules ,
Policy Statement ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
UK
The Financial Services Act 2021 (the “Act”) has received Royal Assent and is now law.
What does this mean for issuers?...more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published Primary Market Bulletin No.33 (PMB No.33) featuring Brexit-related changes for EEA audit firms, details of their new online portal for submitting major shareholdings...more
The UK government has made another stride in its green finance ambitions – a consultation on mandatory climate-related financial disclosures for UK large corporates. The proposals, based on the Financial Stability Board...more
3/25/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Consultation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Stability Board ,
Financial Statements ,
Green Finance ,
HM Treasury ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
UK