EQ Monthly Bulletin - February 2026

In This Edition:

• Department for Business and Trade letter to the FCA regarding the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards
• FCA – Primary Market Bulletin 61 – Knowledge Base Guidance - POATR
• London Stock Exchange – Market Notice NO1/36 – Admission and Disclosure Standards – POATR
• London Stock Exchange – AIM Notice 61 – AIM Rule Amendments – POATR
• Companies House – Updated Outline Transition Plan - ECCTA
• Department for Business and Trade – Letter regarding the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill
• Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No 7) Regulations 2026
• FCA – Consultation Paper CP26/5 – Climate disclosures
• FRC – Guidance on the Strategic Report

Department for Business and Trade letter to the FCA regarding the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards

On 8 January 2026, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) published a letter addressed to the FCA, dated 5 January 2026, providing an update on the governments process to finalise the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards: UK SRS1 and UK SRS2.

The letter explains the timing of the application and availability of the UK SRS will be set out in government regulations, for example, the Companies Act 2006, FCA rules and other relevant authorities.

The FCA will consult on the adoption of the UK SRS for listed companies in early 2026.

The letter can be accessed here: Letter from DBT to Financial Conduct Authority regarding update on UK government process to finalise UK Sustainability Reporting Standards

FCA – Primary Market Bulletin 61 – Knowledge Base Guidance - POATR

On 12 January 2026, the FCA published Primary Market Bulletin 61, focusing on updating guidance in its Knowledge Base to reflect changes to the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations (POATRs) regime that came into force on 19 January 2026.

This Bulletin:

• Feeds back on the consultation in Primary Market Bulletin 58
• Consults on proposed changes for the POATRs regime to one existing technical note
• Provides information on forthcoming changes to its helpdesk service
• Highlights that the form for a sponsor’s written confirmation for an initial transaction announcement under UKLR 13.4.11R has been removed from the FCA website

The Bulletin can be viewed here: Primary Market Bulletin 61 | FCA

London Stock Exchange – Market Notice NO1/36 – Admission and Disclosure Standards – POATR

On 16 January 2026, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) published Market Notice NO1/26 confirming amendments to its Admission and Disclosure Standards.

The changes:

• Confirm amendments to implement the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024 (POATRs) and Prospectus Rules: Admissions to Trading on a Regulated Market Sourcebook (PRM)
• Confirm that a new class of securities cannot be admitted to the Professional Securities Market (PSM) following the FCA’s decision to remove Listing Particulars as an admission document
• Confirm that applications for admission of further issues of securities of a class already admitted to the PSM can still be made in accordance with the further issue requirements
• Remove references to Form 1, with applications for admission to trading of securities to be made via the Self-Service Portal

The Notice can be viewed here: No1/26 FCAs New Rules for the public offers and admissions to trading regime

London Stock Exchange – AIM Notice 61 – AIM Rule Amendments - POATR

On 16 January 2026, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) issued AIM Notice 61 which confirms amendments to the AIM Rules for Companies to implement the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024 (POATRs), replacing the UK Prospectus Regulation from 19 January 2026.

The amendments:

• Confirm that AIM companies must comply with the POATRs, the FCA’s Prospectus Regulation: Admissions to Trading on a Regulated Market Sourcebook and the FCA’s Market Conduct Sourcebook
• Confirm that an admission document will not be required for further issues of securities by an AIM company that already has securities of the same class admitted to trading on AIM
• Confirm that where a company is required to produce an admission document, that document must disclose the information required by Regulation 23 of POATRs
• Update Schedule 2 of the rules to list the persons responsible for the information in an admission document
• Change the rules so that forward looking statements made in an admission document are subject to the same liability regime as applies to prospectuses

The notice also confirms that the LSE intents to make further substantive changes to the AIM Rules in the first half of 2026.

The notice can be viewed here: AIM Notice 61 - AIM Rules for Companies - amendments for POATRs

Companies House – Updated Outline Transition Plan - ECCTA

On 19 January 2026, Companies House updated its Outline Transition Plan for reforming its role in connection with the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.

The updated plan confirms that the Spring 2026 due date for implementation of the following requirements has been postponed until no earlier than November 2026:

• Compulsory identity verification for any presenter filing a document at Companies House
• The requirement for any third-party agent filing on behalf of a company to be registered as an authorised corporate service provider (ACSP)

The update further confirms that the proposal to reject documents that are filed by a disqualified director on their own behalf will now be introduced by the end of 2026.

The transition plan can be accessed via the Companies House website here: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: outline transition plan for Companies House - GOV.UK

Department for Business and Trade – Letter regarding the Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill

On 20 January 2026, the Department for Business and Trade published a letter addressed to the Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, confirming that the government no longer intends to consult on the proposed Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, outlined in the 2024 King’s Speech.

The letter states that the government will still look to put the Financial Reporting Council on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.

The accompanying press release states that the government will be pressing ahead with plans to allow virtual AGMs and streamline corporate reporting.

The letter can be accessed here: Letter from Minister McDougall to BTC Chair - Audit Reform Legislation

The press release can be viewed here: Business Secretary backs British scaleups with growth package and red tape review - GOV.UK

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No 7) Regulations 2026

On 23 January 2026, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No 7) Regulations 2026 were published, bringing into force further provisions of the ECCTA from 26 January 2026.

These regulations bring into force provisions of the ECCTA which remove the option for private (non-traded) companies to keep member information on the central register.

The Regulations can be viewed here: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No. 7) Regulations 2026

FCA – Consultation Paper CP26/5 – Climate disclosures

On 31 January 2026, the FCA published Consultation Paper CP26/5, consulting on replacing current FCA rules for listed companies’ climate disclosures with proportionate rules to:

• Align reporting with current international standards
• Make sure investors can access clear, consistent and robust information about sustainability risks and uncertainties
• Support overseas companies to be more transparent about their sustainability reporting, while removing duplication

The consultation closes on 30 March 2026.

The Consultation Paper can be accessed here: CP26/5: Aligning listed issuers’ sustainability disclosures with international standards | FCA

FRC – Guidance on the Strategic Report

On 4 February 2026, the FRC issued updated Guidance on the Strategic Report, to support UK companies required to prepare a report under UK law to address their reporting obligations in a way that is practical, proportionate and supports high quality reporting.
The Guidance has been updated to reflect changes to legislative and regulatory requirements, including the revised UK Corporate Governance Code 2024.

In addition to the Guidance, the FRC has published updated Scoping Tables to support companies complying with disclosure requirements for the strategic report, the directors’ report and the energy and carbon report to reflect the reporting of payment practices within the Directors’ Report.

The FRC’s Guidance can be viewed here: Guidance on the Strategic Report (February 2026)

The updated Scoping Tables can be viewed here: Scoping Tables February 2026