The City of London post-Brexit: Can dual-class shares be a game-changer?

The status of the City of London as a global financial center has been at the heart of much speculation over the past five years, following the outcome of the Brexit referendum. One of the key questions that has been debated in both media and academic outlets is related to the capacity of the City to attract business, especially once the rights flowing from the EU Passport system cease to be in place (1st January 2021). Effectively, the new regulatory scenario emerging from the post-Brexit world is likely to put the City of London in more direct competition vis-à-vis other European markets.

Questions of competition have come to the fore more recently, in March 2021, with the Review of the UK listing regime, produced by Lord Hill. This deals with aspects of UK financial regulation, and more specifically with the UK listing process and its effectiveness in attracting companies, both domestic and overseas. It is fair to say that, together with investor protection concerns, the Review has a distinctive competitive objective, which transpires from its focus. It is also evident that the implementation of this Review would cause a departure of the UK from a number of EU legal and regulatory standards.