CP26/14: Proposed Removal of 7-Day Research Delay in UK Equity IPOs
Summary
The FCA is consulting on removing the 7-day waiting period between publication of an approved registration document or prospectus and connected research in UK equity IPOs, and on eliminating the requirement for syndicate banks to share identical information with unconnected analysts. The consultation, CP26/14, follows feedback that the 2018 equal information sharing rules have added unnecessary market risk and costs for UK issuers. Responses are invited by 29 May 2026.
“We are seeking views on proposed changes to rules on information sharing during equity initial public offerings (IPOs).”
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What changed
The FCA proposes amending COBS 11A.1.4FR to remove the 7-day waiting period between the publication of an approved registration document or prospectus and connected research, and removing COBS 11A.1.4BR through COBS 11A.1.4ER which mandate that syndicate banks share the same information with unconnected analysts as they do with their own research analysts. These changes would simplify the IPO research process and reduce regulatory burden on issuers listing in the UK.
Affected parties including investment banks, independent research providers, law firms, sponsors, brokers, and prospective issuers should review their current IPO research and information-sharing practices and submit feedback to the FCA by 29 May 2026. The FCA will consider responses before publishing a policy statement finalising any rule changes.
Archived snapshot
Apr 27, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
CP26/14: Changes to information flows for UK equity IPOs
Consultation opens 27/04/2026 27/04/2026 Consultation closes 29/05/2026
Consultation papers First published:
27/04/2026
Last updated: 27/04/2026
We are seeking views on proposed changes to rules on information sharing during equity initial public offerings (IPOs).
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Why we are consulting
We introduced rules in 2018 designed to encourage the production of unconnected pre-deal investment research during the UK equity IPO process.
Feedback suggests that these changes haven’t always achieved their intended effect. Instead, the equal information sharing rules, particularly the addition of a ‘7-day delay’ for connected research, have added unnecessary market risk and costs for issuers listing in the UK.
Our proposals include:
- Amending COBS 11A.1.4FR to remove the 7-day waiting period between the publication of an approved registration document/prospectus and connected research.
- Removing COBS 11A.1.4BR - COBS 11A.1.4ER which mandate that syndicate banks intending to publish connected IPO research share the same information with a range of unconnected analysts as they do with their own research analysts. We also include discussion questions on the remaining aspects of the 2018 IPO information flows rules to help explore where there are further opportunities for reform of these rules.
Who this is for
This consultation will affect:
- Prospective issuers
- Retail and institutional investors in shares admitted to a UK regulated market
- Investment advisers, brokers and other intermediaries
- Independent research providers (IRPs)
- Law firms involved in the IPO process
- Investment banks and other companies involved in the IPO process
- Sponsors
Next steps
Send us your feedback by 29 May 2026. Please respond by completing our online response form or by emailing [email protected].
We will consider the feedback we receive and publish a policy statement subject to finalising our rules.
Background
In UK IPOs, pre-deal investment research is commonly provided by banks to their institutional investor clients. This may be published either by syndicate banks providing deal-related services to the issuer (connected research), or by non‑syndicate firms and independent providers that distribute research to their own institutional client base (unconnected research).
We first introduced the rules on unconnected analysts in July 2018. This followed concerns raised in discussion paper DP16/3 (PDF) about the lack of availability of information during the UK equity IPO process and potential policy options for improving the quality of this information. Following industry engagement, the suggested changes were proposed in CP17/5 (PDF) and then made into final rules in PS17/23.
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PS17/23: Reforming the availability of information in the UK equity IPO process
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