Optimizing Mid-Market Workforce Acquisition in 2026

As an outcome of the intro of the UKLR sourcebook in July 2024, both the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and FTSE Russell made substantial modifications to their rules. In July 2024, the LSE validated amendments to its Admission and Disclosure Standards to reflect the collapse of the previous premium and standard listing sections into the new business company category.

It then issued a summary and Frequently asked questions validating its view when the final UKLR sourcebook was published in July 2024. One of the measures 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 potential benefits of the UK transferring to a T +1 securities settlement cycle and lay out how this modification might be executed.

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

Scale Mid-Market Strategy in 2026

In July 2023, the taskforce released an Interim Report (read our summary here) which made a number of recommendations, including: legislation ought to be advanced, and business posts of association altered, as soon as practicable to stop the issuance of brand-new paper share certificates; the federal government must advance legislation to need dematerialisation of all share certificates at a future date; the federal government needs to seek advice from provider and financier representatives on the favored personality of "residual" paper share interests and whether a time limit need to be enforced for the recognition of untraced Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs); andintermediaries must have a responsibility, 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 companies within a very short time frame.

ANSR July UK PRs

Digitisation would target listed companies with a view to decreasing expenses and waste, and simplifying shareholder interaction. The report proposes extra procedures to guarantee that UBOs within the intermediated securities chain would be able to exercise shareholder rights that are currently only ensured for registered investors, as well as procedures to boost interaction between business and UBOs.