Stock market reforms would ‘pass greater risk to investors’, FCA says

In response to the reforms, some experts argue that eroding shareholder rights risks undermining market standards. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

The UK’s financial regulator has warned reforms to stock market listing rules will pass greater risks on to investors in British companies, as it presses ahead with changes designed to reverse a decline in London’s position as a top financial centre.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Tuesday night said it plans to abolish the stricter “premium” class of London stock market listing, and make it easier for company founders to keep control of businesses using US-style “golden shares”, among a series of big changes to City regulations.