On 3 April 2025, the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted to delay the implementation of the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D). The...more
Below is our quarterly briefing covering the most important developments for UK PLCs, UK equity capital markets and UK public M&A.
In this issue, we review:
- Primary Market Bulletin 54 — Strategic leaks and unlawful...more
On 26 February 2025, the European Commission (the EC) adopted a new package of proposals aimed at simplifying the EU’s ESG reporting and compliance requirements. The EC published two separate proposals for directives to make...more
3/3/2025
/ Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability
In this article, we reflect on key trends in ESG over the second half of 2024 and look ahead at trends that may emerge in 2025. We analyze developments in the latter half of 2024, which were similar to those highlighted in...more
1/6/2025
/ Antitrust Division ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
COP ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Green Loans ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Loan Market Association ,
Member State ,
Modern Slavery Act ,
Nasdaq ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Tax Reform ,
UK ,
United Nations
Since the announcement of the UK government’s Edinburgh reforms to financial services in December 2022, which set out a large number of proposals aimed at making London the “world’s most innovative and competitive global...more
12/12/2024
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTSE ,
Investment ,
Listing Rules ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Stewardship Code ,
UK
On 14 November 2024, the UK government published a response to its consultation on creating a new regulated market to trade shares in private companies: the Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System...more
A new initiative to consolidate various European Union environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting obligations into a single regulation aims to simplify the regulatory landscape and enhance the EU’s competitiveness....more
What is the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive?
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) is a pivotal European Union directive that mandates human rights and environmental due diligence...more
11/5/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Human Rights ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Sustainability
On 29 June 2023, the EU’s new Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 restricting sale in the EU of products that may cause deforestation or the degradation of forests (EUDR) entered into force.
The EUDR is expected to have global...more
10/22/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
Sustainability
Across industries, companies are facing new and uncertain regulatory pressures and demands in areas including artificial intelligence, sustainability, algorithmic pricing and fintech-bank relations. In this issue of The...more
9/10/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Banking Sector ,
Board of Directors ,
Competition ,
Corporate Governance ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Multinationals ,
Price-Fixing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sustainability ,
Technology Sector ,
UK
As the deadlines approach for multinationals to make their first disclosures under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU’s new sustainability reporting law, they are confronting the significant time...more
9/6/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Multinationals ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Sustainability
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters, and diverging opinions on approach, continued to dominate headlines across the globe in the first half of 2024. Companies and their stakeholders started the year navigating...more
7/29/2024
/ Activist ,
Commercial Litigation ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shareholders ,
UK
On 29 July 2024, the new UK Listing Rules came into force. The new rules institute a simpler, more flexible, disclosure-based listing regime and are designed to place London on a competitive footing with other major...more
7/29/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Markets ,
Commercial Companies Law ,
Corporate Governance ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FTSE ,
Listing Rules ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
UK
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the final Listing Rules, representing the most significant reform of the UK’s listing regime in over three decades, on 11 July 2024 following a period of extensive...more
In July 2023, the UK government published its findings from the Investment Research Review (Review) as part of the UK government’s Edinburgh Reforms. The Review made a number of recommendations to encourage research...more
As part of the wider review of the UK’s capital markets regulatory landscape, in May 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Consultation Paper CP23/10, which set out proposed reforms for companies with listed...more
In July 2023, the Investment Research Review (the Review) commissioned by the UK government published its findings into investment research in UK capital markets. The Review made the following seven recommendations, seeking...more
8/1/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Equity Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investors ,
Listing Rules ,
MiFID II ,
Retail Market ,
UK
Nearly two decades after the enactment of SOX, which was precipitated by several high-profile corporate and accounting scandals in the US during the late 1990s and early 2000s, UK and European regulators are grappling with a...more
7/19/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Financing Rule ,
Corporate Fraud ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transparency ,
UK
On 7 June 2023, the UK Parliament passed the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) (Amendment) Order 2023, which brings cryptoassets within the scope of rules that regulate the marketing of financial...more
A key factor in recent discussions on revitalising London’s place as a capital markets and financial services hub has been a renewed attention on executive compensation. Recent comments made by Julia Hoggett, the CEO of the...more
6/14/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Executive Compensation ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Listing Standards ,
London Stock Exchange ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Remuneration ,
UK
As part of the wider review of the UK’s capital markets regulatory landscape, the FCA published Consultation Paper CP23/10, which sets out reforms for companies with listed shares on the Main Market of the London Stock...more
5/8/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Eligibility ,
Equity Markets ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Listing Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Stock Exchange ,
UK
There has been increased focus recently among London-listed companies in exploring US listings, whether as a further listing or migrating from London altogether. This is primarily being driven by companies seeking to close...more
4/4/2023
/ Capital Markets ,
Corporate Governance ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
FTSE ,
Holding Companies ,
NYSE ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Trading Obligation (STO) ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Exchange ,
UK
On 19 July 2022, the U.K. Secondary Capital Raising Review (the Review) published its report (the Report), making significant recommendations to improve the efficiency of secondary capital raising by companies listed on the...more
Takeaways -
Responding to a decline in the London Stock Exchange’s global market share of IPOs and other fundraising, a string of government-commissioned reports prompted proposals to reform the U.K.’s listing rules and...more