Strategic Corporate Management Tips for 2026

As an outcome of the introduction of the UKLR sourcebook in July 2024, both the London Stock Market (LSE) and FTSE Russell made consequential changes to their guidelines. In July 2024, the LSE confirmed amendments to its Admission and Disclosure Standards to show the collapse of the previous premium and standard listing sections into the new commercial company category.

It then provided a summary and Frequently asked questions validating its view when the last UKLR sourcebook was released 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 objective of the taskforce was to think about the possible advantages of the UK moving to a T +1 securities settlement cycle and describe how this modification might 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 resulted in the establishment in July 2022 of the Digitisation Taskforce, chaired by Sir Douglas Flint.

Building Ethical Trade Chains for 2026

In July 2023, the taskforce published an Interim Report (read our summary here) which made a number of recommendations, including: legislation must be advanced, and company articles of association altered, as quickly as practicable to stop the issuance of new paper share certificates; the government must advance legislation to require dematerialisation of all share certificates at a future date; the federal government must seek advice from with provider and investor agents on the preferred personality of "residual" paper share interests and whether a time limit ought to be imposed for the identification of untraced Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs); andintermediaries need to have an obligation, as a condition of involvement in the cleaning and settlement system, to put in location common technology that enables them to react to UBO requests from issuers within a really short time frame.

ANSR July UK PRs

Digitisation would target listed business with a view to minimizing expenses and waste, and improving investor interaction. The report proposes additional steps to guarantee that UBOs within the intermediated securities chain would have the ability to work out investor rights that are currently only ensured for signed up investors, along with measures to boost communication between business and UBOs.