How to Navigate UK Expansion in 2026

As an outcome of the intro 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 changes to its Admission and Disclosure Standards to show the collapse of the previous premium and standard listing segments into the new industrial company category.

It then issued a summary and FAQs verifying its view when the last UKLR sourcebook was published in July 2024. Among the steps 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 consider the potential benefits of the UK moving to a T +1 securities settlement cycle and detail how this change might be implemented.

On 19 February 2025, the UK federal government revealed it accepted the suggestion and the UK market means to relocate 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.

Can AI Innovation Accelerate UK ROI?

In July 2023, the taskforce published an Interim Report (read our summary here) that made a variety of suggestions, including: legislation should be advanced, and business short articles of association changed, as soon as practicable to stop the issuance of new paper share certificates; the government should bring forward legislation to require dematerialisation of all share certificates at a future date; the government must talk to issuer and financier representatives on the favored disposition of "residual" paper share interests and whether a time frame should be imposed for the identification of untraced Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs); andintermediaries need to have an obligation, as a condition of participation in the clearing and settlement system, to put in place typical technology that enables them to respond to UBO demands from providers within an extremely short time frame.

ANSR July UK PRs

Digitisation would target noted business with a view to reducing costs and waste, and improving investor interaction. The report proposes additional steps to ensure that UBOs within the intermediated securities chain would be able to exercise investor rights that are currently only ensured for signed up investors, as well as steps to enhance communication in between business and UBOs.