On 2 December 2021, the FCA published Policy Statement PS21/22 which sets out a series of changes to the Listing Rules to remove barriers to listing in London. The changes seek to reduce barriers to companies listing in the UK and encourage private companies to consider listing at an earlier stage, while still retaining high standards for investors.
It has been three weeks since the end of the Brexit Transition Period and many businesses, in particular small retailers exporting to the EU, are finding themselves facing a barrage of new rules and regulations which, together with the announcement on January 4th of another National Lockdown across England, has made for a grim New Year.
In a landmark ruling in “Schrems II” by the European Court of Justice on 16 July 2020, it was declared that the EU-US Privacy Shield is no longer valid when transferring personal data from the EU to the US on the basis that it does not fully protect EU citizens given the surveillance by US agencies.
For most founders the early stages of business are “bootstrapped” - funded by friends and family, reinvested profits, salary sacrifice, personal credit cards, mortgages and the like. There are essentially two forms of funding for any business – debt (loans) and equity (shares in your company) — so what are the things a business needs to look out for when seeking equity investment?
