Budget 2024 - IR highlights
What are the most significant measures for Investor Relations?
The ‘Great British ISA’
This will help promote investment in UK-listed or traded companies by allowing an additional £5,000 to be invested in UK equities to “support the wider work being done to increase the capital available for UK businesses and to support the competitiveness of UK equity capital markets.”
Read more: UK ISA consultation - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
ESG Ratings
Confirmation from HMT that the government will press ahead with developing a regulatory regime for ESG ratings providers “where these assessments of ESG factors are used for investment decisions and influence capital allocation”, which will improve clarity and trust in ESG ratings. This will be delivered via secondary legislation and regulated by the FCA, with a full consultation response and legislative steps to follow later this year.
‘PISCES’ – the new intermittent trading platform
As mentioned in our recent update to the Best Practice Guidelines, the government have launched a consultation setting out their proposal for a new platform that will allow private companies to trade their securities in a controlled environment and on an intermittent basis, supporting the pipeline for future IPOs in the UK as one way of boosting the UK as a listing destination. The new Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System (PISCES) incorporates elements from public markets, such as those that offer multilateral trading, and elements from private markets that provide greater discretion on what company disclosures should be made public.
Published 8 March, 2024