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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition
Main Market definition

What does Main Market mean? In UK capital markets practice, the Main Market is the london stock exchange’s primary venue for trading listed securities. It is a regulated market under FSMA and UK MiFIR, but “Main Market” is an LSE market name rather than a statutory definition. The market includes: securities admitted to the Official List under the UK Listing Rules (including the single equity shares category that replaced the former Premium and Standard segments), the Specialist Fund Segment, the Shanghai–London Stock Connect Segment, and the High Growth Segment (now closed to new admissions). Issuers seeking admission to trading must comply with the...

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Adding a Rule 144A tranche to a London Stock Exchange Main Market IPO: diligence, disclosure, financial, documentation and publicity issues when marketing to US QIBs

Practice notes
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Rule 144A has operated since April 1990. This Practice Note examines the key legal issues when assessing whether to add a so‑called 'Rule 144A tranche' to a company's Main Market initial public offer (IPO). It also considers further points that arise when a company weighs up accessing the US market by offering and selling Shares to 'qualified institutional buyers' as defined in Rule 144A in connection with its Main Market IPO.

What is a Rule 144A tranche?

There are several ways for a company to extend the initial admission of its Securities to Listing on the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange (Main Market) (initial public offer or IPO) to investors in the US, eg by means of:

  • a public offering in the US (a structure that is presently fairly rare);
  • what is commonly referred to as a US private placement.

See Practice Note: Adding a US tranche to a public offer...

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Thomas Vita
Thomas Vita

Thomas Vita is a New York-qualified corporate finance lawyer based in London. He leads the US corporate finance team in London, which specialises in US legal advice in international securities offerings, M&A transactions and other corporate finance matters. Tom has extensive experience in international securities transactions, including initial public and follow-on SEC registered and Rule 144A offerings, investment grade and high-yield debt issues, privatisations, tender offers, exchange offers and rights offerings. Tom has represented leading global investment banks and issuers on transactions in the United States, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...

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