On 14 March 2025, the FCA published Primary Market Bulletin (No 54) which includes commentary on strategic leaks and unlawful disclosure, enhancing the National Storage Mechanism and the recent Quarterly Consultation Paper (CP25/4).
Securities
Public Offer Platforms (POPs) – Will they solve the problem?

The aim of allowing smaller companies to raise money in London by moving away from the old prospectus and listing regime is surely laudable. To remind everyone, the essential features of the proposals are to:
- remove the current requirement for an FCA approved prospectus for offers of over £5 million provided the offer is made
ESMA updated document – links to national websites where net short positions in shares are disclosed

On 14 November 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its document setting out links to Member State websites where net short positions in shares are disclosed.
Article 9 of the Regulation on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps provides that net short position in shares should be…
ESMA updated document – links to national websites where net short positions in shares are disclosed

On 14 November 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its document setting out links to Member State websites where net short positions in shares are disclosed.
Article 9 of the Regulation on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps provides that net short position in shares should be…
FCA updates webpage on notification and disclosure of net short positions

On 20 March 2023, the FCA updated its webpage on notification and disclosure of net short positions.
The webpage has been updated to provide the following updates:
- Revised list of exempted shares (LES) available from 1 April 2023 – The FCA has undertaken a second review of the LES (as required under the UK Short
ESMA updates Q&As on the Prospectus Regulation

On 3 February 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) updated its Questions and Answers (Q&As) on the Prospectus Regulation.
The Q&As have been updated to include the following Q&A:
Question: Article 1(4)(d) of the prospectus regulation states: “The obligation to publish a prospectus set out in Article 3(1) shall…
CMU: New proposals on company listing to make EU capital markets more attractive

On 7 December 2022, the European Commission published the following proposals which follow up on its commitment to simplify EU listing rules, as detailed in Action 2 of the 2020 Capital Markets Union Action Plan:
…Updated Guidance for the implementation of the Russia Sanctions EU Exit Regulations 2019
On 2 December 2022, HM Treasury published updated statutory guidance to assist in the implementation of, and compliance with the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. The guidance has been updated to clarify the application of the prohibition on provision of technical assistance, financial services or funds related to G7 dependency and further goods.
FCA updates webpage on notification and disclosure of net short positions

On 2 December 2022, the FCA updated their webpage on the notification and disclosure of net short positions.
The webpage now includes a new section providing an update on the FCA’s review of the UK list of exempted shares. The FCA published an initial UK list of exempted shares on 31 December 2020. This…
ESMA publishes updated Q&As on the Prospectus Regulation

On 13 October 2022, the European Securities and Markets Authority published updated questions and answers (Q&As) on the Prospectus Regulation.
The Q&As now include Question 15.9: Prospectus exemption in connection with a takeover by means of an exchange offer.