The transaction is a landmark moment for the UK’s reformed capital markets framework.
By Mark Austin, Ryan Benedict, Frederick Gardner, Isabelle Knapton, and Rob Moulton
Latham & Watkins has advised the underwriting banks on the UK and European retail offers in connection with SpaceX’s IPO, which involved an innovative use of the FCA’s new public offer platform (POP) regime. A total of 2,696,175 shares were made available for UK retail investors, raising $363,983,625 and representing one
The report covers the private law issues that may arise when firms use AI to assist, or directly execute, market activities.
By Nell Perks
In late October, the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) released a report that considers the private law issues that may arise from the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in wholesale financial markets.1 The report offers non-binding guidance on how to conceptualise AI’s impact in private law domains. While the technology may be revolutionary, the FMLC
Final report recommends the digitisation of UK shareholdings through a fully intermediated system of shareholding, with an interim phase of digitised share registers.
By Mark Austin CBE, James Inness, Anna Ngo, and Johannes Poon
On 15 July 2025, the Digitisation Taskforce, chaired by Sir Douglas Flint, published its final report, marking a significant milestone in the journey towards digitising the UK shareholding framework. Its findings have been welcomed by HM Treasury on behalf of the UK
A landmark judgment from the Court of Appeal has clarified when representative proceedings may be issued on a bifurcated basis and the application of the regime to securities claims.
By Oliver Middleton and Duncan Graves
The English Court of Appeal has confirmed the strike out of a bifurcated representative action under CPR 19.8 for claims under Section 90A FSMA,1 a statutory regime that has formed the basis of a large number of group actions in recent years. Section 90A
SMRs are attracting growing attention from governments, investors, and financiers as a means to power the energy transition, offering the promise of shorter construction times, scalability, and reduced financial risk compared to traditional nuclear reactors.
By Tom Bartlett, Beatrice Lo, JP Sweny, Simon Tysoe, Sam Burleton, and Tom Glynne-Jones
Nuclear power is attracting growing interest in the energy and investment sectors, driven by the rising global demand for low-carbon energy and the growth of artificial
The FCA is approaching its design of the world’s first regulated private/public crossover market with a “private plus” rather than a “public minus” mindset.
By Mark Austin, Rob Moulton, James Inness, Anna Ngo, Frederick Gardner, and Johannes Poon
On 17 December 2024, the FCA launched a consultation on its proposed regulatory framework for the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) (CP24/29). This consultation follows the publication of HM Treasury’s draft statutory
The NPV aims to promote growth and international competitiveness by advancing open banking, re-evaluating the approach to regulating the sector, and continuing the fight against fraud.
By Brett Carr, Christian F. McDermott, and Stuart Davis
On 14 November 2024, the UK government published the National Payments Vision (NPV or Vision), which represents the government’s view on how to support the growth and competitiveness of the UK’s payments sector and outlines its key objectives. The central mission of the
The world’s first regulated private/public crossover market is significantly redesigned as a friction-free “private up” rather than “public down” market with rethought approach to disclosure and market abuse.
By Mark Austin, Chris Horton, James Inness, Anna Ngo, Frederick Gardner, and Johannes Poon
On 14 November 2024, the UK government published its response to the March 2024 consultation on the UK’s proposed new regulated private/public crossover market, the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES).
Recent reforms in the UK market have led to less prescriptive executive remuneration principles that encourage companies to tailor structures to their business, strategy, and performance while consulting with shareholders.
By Mark Austin, Kendall Burnett, Sarah Gadd, James Inness, Anna Ngo, and Johannes Poon
On 8 October 2024, the Investment Association (IA) updated its Principles of Remuneration (and supporting guidance) (the IA Principles), which predominantly apply to UK-listed companies. UK proxy advisors refer to the
The UK’s consultation on deregulating commercial agents could have knock-on impacts on payment services and create regulatory divergence from the EU.
By Christian McDermott, Brett Carr, and Grace Erskine
On 16 May 2024, the UK government launched a consultation into the deregulation of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 (the Commercial Agents Regulations). The Commercial Agents Regulations implemented Council Directive 86/653/EEC (the Commercial Agents Directive) and defined certain pro-agent terms of engagement between businesses and their self-employed commercial agents who are authorised to negotiate the sale or purchase of goods on their behalf.
The stated purpose of the consultation is to ensure that the Commercial Agents Regulations serve the needs of UK businesses post-Brexit, and to remove the legal complexities resulting from the interaction of the Commercial Agents Regulations with the English legal system’s rules on agency and contract law. The UK government’s current proposal is for existing contracts under the Commercial Agents Regulations to remain in force until termination or expiry, and to prevent new contracts from being subject to the Commercial Agents Regulations.
In addition to affecting relationships between UK agents and their principals, the proposals could also have knock-on effects for the payments sector, which we explore in this post.