Corporate Focus: Recent Updates - October 2010

EXTENSION OF THE ISSUER LIABILITY REGIME

The statutory regime governing issuer liability for periodic financial disclosures has changed with effect from 1 October 2010. The regime will in future apply to a much wider range of published information and its scope has been extended to include AIM and PLUS-quoted companies, among other issuers.

Background

Implementation of the Transparency Directive in 2006 introduced new provisions into the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 setting out the liability of issuers whose securities are traded on a UK regulated market (or another EEA regulated market where the UK is the issuer's home member state) for certain periodic financial disclosures. An independent review subsequently concluded that there was a case for extending the issuer liability regime and the recommendations of that review are now being put into effect.