Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Business plan definition

What does Business plan mean? In pensions practice, a business plan is a trustee governance document that sets out the scheme’s objectives and planned actions over a defined period. It typically covers administration, investment, funding, communications, risk management, key milestones (for example valuations, ORA, chair’s statement), responsibilities, budgets and adviser reviews, to support timely, well‑informed decisions in members’ best interests. It is not to be confused with an employer’s corporate business plan. The term is not defined in UK legislation or case law; it is a descriptive governance tool used for both defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. In England & Wales, Scotland and...

FCA Authorisation Applications: Drafting the Regulatory Business Plan—Content, Risk Assessment, Process and Common Pitfalls

Published by a LexisNexis Financial Services expert

Practice notes

Introduction to the fca authorisation process

Putting together an application for Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation can be demanding. You must assemble and submit numerous documents for the FCA to review. Although application types differ in method, layout and content, the cornerstone for most is the regulatory business plan, commonly called the ‘RBP’. This Practice Note sets out guidance on building the RBP. The advice applies broadly across the principal financial services arenas: investment, insurance intermediation, mortgages, credit and payment services. By contrast, applications made to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)—for banks and risk‑taking insurers, for instance—follow a specialist route and fall outside the scope of this Practice Note. For further detail on the FCA’s authorisation journey, see: Obtaining authorisation and fees—overview. See also: FCA—Authorisation, FCA—How to apply for authorisation or registration, and FCA—Sample business plan.

Importance of the regulatory business plan

An applicant’s RBP is the pivotal paper within an authorisation submission. It sets out for the FCA comprehensive information on the regulated activities the firm intends to undertake, enabling the FCA to determine whether the firm ought to be authorised. The RBP outlines the...

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Ben Mason

Compliancy Services

Ben specialises in providing compliance, governance and risk advice to boards of banks and regulated companies and assisting new firms get authorised by the FCA and PRA for the first time. He has worked with firms across a number of financial service sectors, in particular leading the applications for banks, investment and fintech firms. This includes supporting sectors that are facing FCA regulation for the first time such as consumer credit and cryptocurrency. For five years he was Chair of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants Authorisations Working Group where he regularly liaised with the FCA authorisations team to help them consider improvements to the applications process.As CEO of Compliancy Services he is responsible for the development of their strategy and the new products and service innovation. Under his direction the company has shown a strong aptitude for bringing successful new...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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