Listing Regime

Listing Regime

When listing equity securities on the Main Market, companies have the choice of two types of listing – a Premium (formerly Primary) Listing and a Standard (formerly Secondary) Listing.

Premium Listing

A Premium Listing is only available to equity shares issued by trading companies and closed and open-ended investment entities. Issuers with a Premium Listing are required to meet the UK’s super-equivalent rules which are higher than the EU minimum requirements.  A Premium Listing means the company is expected to meet the UK’s highest standards of regulation and corporate governance – and as a consequence may enjoy a lower cost of capital through greater transparency and through building investor confidence.

Standard Listing

Standard Listings cover issuance of shares, Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), debt and securitised derivatives that are required to comply with EU minimum requirements. A Standard Listing allows issuers to access the Main Market by meeting EU harmonised standards only rather than the UK ‘super-equivalent’ requirements.

Prior to October 2009 when the FSA introduced new rules, only companies incorporated outside the UK were eligible for a Standard Listing. Now Standard listings are open to all companies regardless of domicile.

For more information on the structure of the UK listing regime and a list of frequently asked questions, please visit the FSA’s website.

Listing segments

All issuers with securities admitted to the FSA’s Official List are assigned to a listing segment - Premium or Standard and a listing category. Please visit our statistics section to access a list of securities with details of the relevant listing segment and securities category or click here to access the FSA's Official List.

Index inclusion

Premium Listed companies are potentially eligible for the FTSE UK Index Series, including the FTSE 100 Index - one of the most widely recognised indices around the world.

Inclusion in the FTSE UK Index Series is determined by FTSE according to published ground rules. The FTSE UK Index Series is open to eligible Premium Listed Main Market companies. Companies with a Standard Listing are not eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK Index Series.

For further information on the FTSE UK Index Series and the associated ground rules, please visit www.ftse.com.

Downloads
Premium, Standard and AIM Comparison (file pdf - 17 KB)