TO BE PUBLISHED January 2027
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This conference will examine next steps for UK listings and strengthening the market for companies seeking to raise capital and attract investment. Looking at the market response to recent reform, areas for discussion include priorities for capital raising and issuer participation, strengthening domestic investment and liquidity, and the changing relationship between public and private markets.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to consider how the early operation of the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading regime and revised AIM Rules is working for issuers, investors and market participants, alongside the impact of the UK Listing Relief from Stamp Duty Reserve Tax and proposals for a new securities transfer tax. Delegates will discuss priorities for the next phase of regulatory development, including where further changes to listing, prospectus and market rules may support companies seeking to raise capital while maintaining investor confidence and market integrity.
The agenda will also assess wider factors influencing decisions on whether and where companies list, including valuations, liquidity, analyst coverage, transaction costs and access to long-term capital. The value of takeover approaches for UK-listed companies in the first half of 2026 substantially exceeded the market value represented by new listings over the period, highlighting questions around the ability of UK public markets to attract and retain companies. With businesses continuing to weigh public markets against overseas listing, private funding and acquisition, the conference will consider what would materially strengthen the attractiveness of UK public markets for issuers and investors, and where regulatory reform alone is unlikely to be sufficient.
Delegates will examine the approaches being taken to increase domestic investment and retail participation, and their implications for demand for UK-listed securities. Discussion will consider the Pension Schemes Act 2026 and wider pension investment reform, changes to the Cash ISA from April 2027 and industry-led initiatives to encourage investment. It will also consider the role of institutional investors, asset managers and retail capital in supporting liquidity, market depth and long-term investment.
The agenda will also consider the evolving relationship between public and private markets, including the position of AIM and the development of PISCES and public offer platforms. Discussion will look at pathways for start-ups, scale-ups and established companies seeking growth capital, and at whether new forms of private-market liquidity are likely to provide stepping stones towards public markets, operate alongside them, or enable companies to remain private for longer.
UK listings, IPO activity and competitiveness
Sessions will consider the factors affecting the strength and competitiveness of the UK listed market following recent reform, and what would make long-term listing more attractive to companies and investors.
Areas for discussion include:
- market response: IPO activity and capital raised - issuer and investor confidence - liquidity and market depth - what early experience of recent reform is showing
- listing decisions:
- factors influencing whether, where and when companies list - public markets compared with private funding and overseas exchanges
- pipeline and conditions for prospective issuers
- valuations & investment: UK valuations and institutional demand - analyst coverage and research - implications for attracting and retaining listed companies
- competitiveness: London’s position relative to other financial centres - additional overseas listings and transfers - priorities for strengthening the UK proposition for issuers and investors
- takeovers & departures: foreign acquisitions and public-to-private transactions - reasons for companies leaving public markets - implications for market depth and the listed-company base
- transaction costs:
- impact of the UK Listing Relief from Stamp Duty Reserve Tax - treatment of regulated markets
- introduction of the Securities Transfer Tax - scope for further fiscal or market-led measures
Capital raising, disclosure and governance
The agenda will examine how the reformed framework is working for companies raising capital, investors and market advisers, and priorities as the changes are implemented in practice.
Areas for discussion include:
- prospectus framework:
- early operation of the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading regime - emerging market practice
- protected forward-looking statements - MTF admission prospectuses - areas where further FCA guidance may be needed
- secondary capital raising: higher prospectus threshold for further issuances - flexibility and speed of fundraising - disclosure and investor protection - opportunities for retail participation
- IPO process & research: changes to connected and unconnected analyst arrangements - access to research - implications for price formation, investor engagement and IPO timetables
- investment companies:
- next steps for the FCA review of listing rules - board independence and manager conflicts
- fee changes and related party transactions - shareholder rights and minority protection
- governance & engagement:
- stewardship and activist investment - board accountability - shareholder participation
- implications of governance arrangements for investor confidence and market attractiveness
- sustainability reporting:
- transition to UK Sustainability Reporting Standards - proportionality and implementation for listed issuers
- Scope 3 and other developing requirements - international comparability
Domestic investment, retail participation and demand for UK equities
Delegates will consider what might strengthen the domestic investor base for UK-listed companies, and how wider savings and investment reforms are likely to affect public markets.
Areas for discussion include:
- institutional investment: allocations by pension funds, insurers and asset managers - incentives and fiduciary considerations - barriers to greater investment in UK-listed equities
- pensions reform:
- the Pension Schemes Act 2026 and wider changes to pension investment - potential effects on demand for public-market assets
- emphasis on private-market investment - implications for the listed market
- liquidity & investment demand: attracting long-term capital - investment across large, mid-sized and smaller listed companies - implications for valuations, price discovery and issuer confidence
- retail investment:
- changes to the Cash ISA from April 2027 - approaches to encouraging a shift from cash saving towards investment
- reach and effectiveness of industry-led initiatives - accessibility and confidence
- investment disclosure:
- implementation of the Consumer Composite Investments regime - developing requirements on costs and charges
- providing useful information without creating unnecessary barriers to participation
- public markets & growth:
- strengthening the connection between household and institutional savings, business investment and public markets
- what would increase the contribution of listed equity to financing UK companies
AIM, PISCES and pathways between private and public markets
Further sessions will consider the financing options available to companies seeking growth capital, the implications for AIM and the relationship between private and public markets.
Areas for discussion include:
- AIM reform:
- implementation of revised AIM Rules - governance requirements and dual-class shares - new routes to admission and capital raising
- implications for companies, advisers and investors
- AIM competitiveness: attracting and retaining growth companies - investor demand and liquidity - impact of takeovers and other departures - confidence in AIM as a public growth market
- growth capital: financing options for start-ups, scale-ups and growing companies - moving from venture and private capital to public markets - addressing gaps in later-stage finance
- PISCES: early operation of approved platforms - issuer and investor participation - disclosure arrangements - development of secondary liquidity in private-company shares
- investor access & protection: eligibility for PISCES trading - participation by employees and eligible investors - proportionality of disclosure and safeguards as the market develops
- public offer platforms: development of the new regime - issuer and investor take-up - widening access to growth-company investment - protections for investors in off-market public offers
- public & private markets:
- assessing new private-market mechanisms’ provision of routes towards public markets, complementing traditional listing, or allowing companies to remain private for longer
- implications for capital formation and the future role of public markets
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
