Earlier this month, the Treasury issued a public consultation on a proposal that would enable the government to prevent foreign companies from listing on London’s financial markets on national security grounds. The impact the proposed power could have on UK financial markets will be evaluated as part of this exercise.

The government only fairly recently concluded an earlier consultation on the critical sectors in which foreign acquisitions should trigger reporting obligations. The idea behind this proposal was that this will allow the government to investigate and address any national security risks posed by such transactions.