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The Quoted Companies Alliance

QCA

The Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) is the independent membership organisation that champions the interests of small and mid-size quoted companies.

Lobbying Activity

Response to EU small listed companies Act

19 Jun 2018

We do not agree that an SME growth market operator should be required to state the minimum amount of shares which can placed in circulation for trading as a condition for admission – regardless of whether they have the flexibility to set an appropriate threshold based on the particular circumstances of the market, including whether the amount should be expressed in absolute value or in percentage of the total issued share capital. Requiring SME growth market operators to impose free float conditions would make listing on a public market unattractive to many companies, which would contradict the European Union’s objective of making SME Growth Markets an appealing platform for companies to seek new capital. We note that the QCA-RSM Small and Mid-Cap Investors Survey 2017 found that a majority of institutional investors believed that there should be no enforced minimum free float – either by value of company or size of shareholding floated – as it would represent an unnecessary and punitive burden on the company in question. Furthermore, after consulting a wide range of UK market participants on whether the AIM Rules for Companies should include a specific numerical or percentage threshold for free float in summer 2017, London Stock Exchange concluded that “There was strong support that the current approach to free float strikes the right balance and that a qualitative approach is of benefit to the market. Respondents also commented that it remains of fundamental importance that a growth market has flexibility and is not hampered by numeric constraints which may result in potentially arbitrary outcomes for smaller companies.” We therefore believe that the draft delegated regulation should be amended to give SME growth market operators sufficient flexibility to determine – following discussion with issuers and other market participants operating in its jurisdiction – whether introducing free float requirements is a suitable approach for its market.
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Meeting with Lee Foulger (Cabinet of Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis)

7 Apr 2015 · Markets in Financial Instruments Directive