Implementation of the new Public Offers and Admissions to Trading regime – Updated rulebooks
21 January 2026
On 19 January 2026, the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading (POAT) Regulations 2024 came fully into force, alongside the new FCA Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market sourcebook, together with amendments to the FCA's Market Conduct sourcebook and the UK Listing Rules.
This is a landmark moment for UK capital markets, and the culmination of an extensive and detailed consultation process, driven by a commitment to enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of UK public markets. For an overview of the new regime, see our client update.
Updates to a suite of other rulebooks have also been implemented – taking effect on 19 January 2026 - to align with the coming into force of the new POAT regime.
Admission and Disclosure Standards
The London Stock Exchange has published Market Notice N01/26 setting out administrative changes to its Admission and Disclosure Standards to reflect the implementation of the new regulatory framework. Amongst other things, the Notice clarifies that, whilst the FCA will now admit securities as a class to the Official List, with further issues of securities already recorded in the Official List being treated as automatically listed, there will be no changes to the requirements in the Standards for applications for the admission to trading of securities. As a result, applications for the admission to trading of further issues of a class of securities already admitted to trading will still need to be made to the Exchange, though no corresponding application will be required to admit securities to the Official List.
Relatedly, as set out in FCA Quarterly Consultation Paper No. 50, the FCA is looking to further simplify the listing applications process in Chapter 20 of the UK Listing Rules – complementing the new approach to listing applications which came into effect on 19 January 2026 (see our client update for further information).
AIM Rules for Companies
The Exchange has also published AIM Notice 61 setting out revisions to its AIM Rules for Companies to reflect the coming into force of the POAT regime. By way of reminder, the Exchange expects to implement additional substantive changes to its AIM Rules during the course of H1, further to its 2025 Discussion Paper Feedback Statement which sets out a roadmap for the reform of AIM. See our client update here for further information.
AQSE Growth Market Rulebooks
Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) has published amended versions of its Growth Market Rulebooks to accommodate the implementation of the POAT regime. In addition, AQSE has confirmed revisions to its Growth Market Rulebooks to account for the introduction of a new service - Aquis Support Services – which is an alternative to the retained corporate adviser and which aims to help companies comply with their continuing obligations under the Growth Market Rulebooks.
