Investors should plan today for the UK’s National Security and Investment Bill.

On 11 November 2020, the UK government published the draft of its long-awaited National Security and Investment Bill (the NSI Bill). The regime envisaged in the draft NSI Bill has many similarities to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) regime and is designed to allow the UK government to intervene in investments considered to pose a risk to national security. The NSI Bill could come into force as early as Q1 2021 but will have retrospective review powers over certain investments still to complete. As such, investors currently contemplating any transaction with a UK nexus should consider the application of the regime.