Main Market meaning

This Practice Note serves as an initial guide to listing debt securities on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). It outlines the ideas of listing and admission to trading, and centres on the main markets for listing debt instruments. It does not aim to detail every applicable requirement and provides links to relevant resources for further reading. It also excludes disclosure requirements and ongoing continuing obligations. Principal markets for debt securities listings The LSE operates several markets, but the venues commonly used for debt capital market listings are: the Main Market the International Securities Market (ISM) the Professional Securities Market (PSM) (Note: From 19 January 2026, the PSM is closed to new admissions) In addition, the LSE runs two markets tailored to particular segments of the debt securities space: the Order book for Fixed Income Securities (OFIS) the Sustainable Bond Market Listing or admission to trading––what is the difference? ‘Listing’ means admission of...

This checklist helps practitioners grasp and consistently apply the FCA’s Consumer Duty requirements for evidencing fair value effectively. It should be considered alongside other relevant practical Consumer Duty materials and references: for information on the main elements of the Consumer Duty with general application, see Practice Note: The FCA Consumer Duty—essentials; also for a suite of sectoral guidance and checklists see: Consumer protection and FCA Consumer Duty—overview for key developments relating to the FCA’s Consumer Duty, see: The FCA Consumer Duty—timeline Background Under the Consumer Duty, four outcomes cover the central and key aspects of the firm–customer relationship. The second outcome is the Price and Value Outcome, which is concerned with an overarching obligation that products must deliver ‘fair value’ to customers. Under PRIN 2A.4: value is the relationship between the amount paid by a retail customer for the product and the benefits they can reasonably expect to receive from the product; and a product provides fair value...

This checklist sets side by side the entry criteria and principal ongoing duties under the UK Listing Rules (UKLR) for equity share listings across these Official List categories: equity shares (commercial companies), equity shares (international commercial companies secondary listing), equity shares (shell companies) and equity shares (transition). It further considers the main continuing obligations set out under the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR) too...

This diagram clearly outlines the key steps for listing and admitting debt instruments for trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market (LSE)...

Public disclosures to compare pension schemes The government said that opening up disclosures will enable employers and workers to compare pension schemes more easily. But the Society of Pension Professionals warned the policy could also weaken pension funds’ decision-making authority. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt outlined the disclosure programme in March 2024, alongside a push for UK pension funds to invest at least 5% of assets in unlisted British companies. In a paper dated 1 May 2024, the SPP noted that the main pension providers—covering more than 15 million UK pension savers—already publish their UK investments via Corporate Adviser magazine’s annual Master Trust & GPP report. The SPP pointed out that such disclosures are already available through that report. According to the paper, the results indicate that funds with higher UK equity weightings have typically underperformed those with minimal or no exposure to the UK market...

The Tower One St George Wharf Ltd v HMRC [2022] UKFTT 154 (TC) A corporate group was progressing a site for residential use as a development project. The concluding phase involved a 50‑storey tower, which they planned to place into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to ring‑fence exposure to risk and potential liabilities, and to secure greater financial flexibility for the project as a whole. After consulting their tax advisers, the group executed a sequence of transactions on the very same day intended to step up the tax cost of the scheme, so the SPV would be treated as acquiring it at market value, with no tax liabilities arising along the chain overall. In outline, the company that owned the property granted a 999‑year lease to another group entity, B64. The shares in B64 were then purchased by...

In this issue: Horizon scanning Status and worker categories Employment contract Protected characteristics Diversity and gender pay gap Maternity, parents and carers Whistleblowing Dates for your diary Trackers Employment resources on Lexis+® LexTalk®Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Horizon scanning HoC Library publishes briefing on progress of Employment Rights Bill 2024–25. The House of Commons (HoC) Library has issued a briefing tracking the Employment Rights Bill 2024–25 (ERB) through its stages to date. It distils the main strands of debate, including unfair dismissal, flexible working, statutory sick pay, family leave, harassment protections, fire and rehire practices, sectoral collective bargaining in education and adult social care, trade union rules, and labour market enforcement. It also summarises amendments made so far. See: LNB News 13/02/2025 53. Status and worker categories DBT keeps Commercial Agents Regulations unchanged after consultation. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has completed its consultation...

Resource Note This Resource Note signposts key commentary, analysis and materials to aid interpretation and offer practical direction on using Chapter 2 of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTR 2). Where relevant, it draws on: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook FCA Knowledge Base—Procedural and Technical notes (formal guidance binding on the FCA) FCA consultation and discussion papers, policy and feedback statements, and warnings Primary Market Bulletins and other FCA publications legacy UKLA technical and procedural notes and the UKLA’s newsletter List!, where still pertinent assimilated EU legislation EU Directives and EU Regulations, where helpful to construing a provision Lexis+® UK analysis and resources Setting the scene What it covers: DTR 2 prescribes the framework for issuers to disclose and manage inside information, supporting timely and even-handed release of market-sensitive information. It also identifies specific situations permitting a delay to public disclosure of inside information, together with the safeguards required to keep such information...

This Resource Note spotlights commentary, analysis and materials to aid interpretation and give practical guidance on applying Chapters 1, 1A, 1B and 1C of the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules: DTR 1, DTR 1A, DTR 1B and DTR 1C respectively. Materials referenced here include, where pertinent: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook FCA Knowledge Base guidance—Procedural notes and Technical notes (constituting formal guidance and binding on the FCA) FCA consultation papers, discussion papers, policy statements, feedback statements and warnings Primary Market Bulletins and other FCA publications former UKLA technical and procedural notes and the UKLA newsletter List!, where still relevant to interpreting or applying a provision assimilated EU legislation EU Directives and EU Regulations, where relevant to interpreting a provision Lexis+ UK analysis and resources Setting the scene What it covers: DTR 1 sets out the Disclosure guidance, explaining its scope and purpose; DTR 1A sets out the transparency rules with their scope and purpose;...

This fundamentals note reviews the wide-ranging overhaul of the UK listing regime that came into force on 29 July 2024. It also outlines the core provisions affecting companies seeking, or already holding, a listing as described in the UK Listing Rules sourcebook, including: Equity shares (commercial companies) International commercial companies secondary listing Shell companies Transition category What is the background to the UK listing regime reforms? Post-Brexit, with scope to depart from EU capital markets rules, the government announced an independent review of the UK listing regime in November 2020. Led by Lord Hill, a former EU financial services commissioner, the review aimed to make the UK more attractive for IPOs and improve capital raising on UK markets. The UK Listing Review Report, released in March 2021, set out a series of recommendations for both the government and the FCA. It noted a decline in London IPO activity in recent years—between 2015 and 2020 London accounted for just 5% of...

STOP PRESS : Significant reforms to the UK prospectus regime came into force on 19 January 2026 Major changes to the UK regime for public offers and admissions to trading took effect on 19 January 2026. The framework for securities offers and UK market admissions is now chiefly contained in the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024, SI 2024/105 (the POATRs), together with the FCA sourcebook, The Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market (PRM). The UK Prospectus Regulation and the FCA Prospectus Regulation Rules have been repealed. The reforms aim to simplify capital raising and substantially lessen the circumstances in which a company must publish an FCA-approved prospectus for a further share issue. For full details of the changes, see Practice Note: UK prospectus regime reform. This Practice Note sets out the prospectus regime that applied before 19 January 2026...

STOP PRESS : Significant reforms to the UK prospectus regime came into force on 19 January 2026 The framework now governing public offers of securities and admissions to trading in the UK is chiefly set out in the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024, SI 2024/105 (the POATRs), together with the FCA sourcebook, The Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market (PRM). The UK Prospectus Regulation and the FCA Prospectus Regulation Rules have been repealed. These reforms are intended to streamline capital raising and markedly cut the number of situations in which a company must publish an FCA approved prospectus when undertaking a further issue of shares...

Company No: [ insert number ] [ Insert company name ] PLC Minutes from a meeting of [ a committee of ] the board of directors (the Meeting) of [ insert full name of company ] plc (the Company) Convened at [ insert place of meeting ] On [ insert day, month and year of meeting ] at [ insert time of meeting ] [ am OR pm ] Present [ Insert the names of the director(s) in physical attendance ] [ Insert the names of any directors attending by remote means (except where such means are specifically disallowed by the Company’s articles of association) (via [ insert mode of attendance for each director participating remotely ]) ] In attendance: [ Insert the name of anyone in attendance who does not count towards the quorum for the Meeting (eg the company secretary, any legal advisers) ] Apologies: [ Insert...

Passporting provisions in the Prospectus Regulation Under the Prospectus Regulation, an issuer must publish a prospectus and have it approved by a competent authority when offering securities to the public in the EEA or when applying for admission of securities to a regulated market, where no relevant exemption applies. To streamline cross-border share offerings within the EEA, the EU prospectus regime provides passporting arrangements that permit companies to produce a single prospectus usable throughout the EEA, avoiding the preparation of multiple documents for separate jurisdictions. Articles 24 to 26 of the Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 set out these passporting provisions, stating that a prospectus approved by the competent authority in one EEA state (the home member state) can be relied upon in another EEA state (the host member state) without requiring the prospectus to be approved again by the competent authority in the host member state. As a result, a UK issuer has been able to undertake a cross-border share offer across the EEA on the basis of...

The higher rates of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) These enhanced rates apply where an individual acquires a major interest in a single dwelling and, by the close of the purchase day, conditions A to D are satisfied: Condition A — the transaction’s chargeable consideration is £40,000 or more; Condition B — on the date of purchase, the dwelling is not held under a lease with more than 21 years left to run; Condition C — the purchaser already holds a major interest in another dwelling with a market value of £40,000 or above, which is also not subject to a lease exceeding 21 years...