Companies listed in London are being offered savings of around £40 million a year as part of reforms confirmed today by the UK City watchdog.
The Financial Conduct Authority unveiled new measures designed to reduce costs and simplify rules for UK companies raising capital from issuing secondary shares and corporate bonds.
Under the reforms, listed firms will no longer need to publish a full prospectus when issuing more shares, most of the time.
To be precise, a prospectus will only be needed when the fundraising involves 75% or more of the existing share capital to be issued, up from a current threshold of 20%.
The window between prospectus publication and an initial public offering has also been halved to three days, which the FCA says will improve access for retail investors.
New rules will also make it easier for companies to issue corporate bonds to retail investors through a unified disclosure standard.
The FCA has also introduced a 'Public Offer Platform' to support growth companies raising over £5 million, which the regulator said will enable larger public offers without requiring a full prospectus and will be operated by authorised firms, similar to crowdfunding platforms.
“These bold shifts promote innovation, lower costs, and enable a broader investor base for growing businesses,” said Simon Walls, executive director of markets at the FCA.
“They are the latest in a programme of reforms shifting the balance from pre-emptive checks to market disclosures.”