Britain’s markets watchdog is preparing to publish trading data for every London-listed share in a bid to prove that UK equity liquidity is much stronger than many issuers and advisers assume. The move comes after several companies cited lower liquidity as a reason to favor a US listing over London.

According to the Financial Times, The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA ) plans to collect and release data from all trading venues, including exchanges, dark pools, systematic internalizes and over-the-counter markets. Current figures focus mainly on the London Stock Exchange’s central limit order book and miss large parts of the market.

FCA Targets Under-Reported UK Liquidity

Interim markets director Simon Walls was quoted by the publication saying that there is an under-reporting of UK share liquidity. He said the FCA is talking to multiple parties about stepping to fix the problem ahead of a full consolidated tape, which is due next year.

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Between January and September last year, official order book data captured about 270 million UK share transactions. The FCA estimates that the total notional amount traded was roughly four times higher when all venues are included.

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Advisers say prospective issuers still view London as less liquid than US markets. The LSE has tried to push back with a document showing FTSE liquidity is comparable with major US indices and noting that most UK companies that listed in the US after raising more than 100 million dollars now trade below their offer price.

Wider Reforms to Revive Capital Markets

The FCA has already eased some rules to speed up equity and debt issuance, including removing the prospectus requirement for many secondary share sales.

It is also considering relaxing curbs on payment for order flow in certain wholesale business, cutting reporting for some over-the-counter trades, removing position limits in commodities, creating a framework for more tokenized assets and trimming disclosure for securitizations.

FCA plans to publish the interim all-venue data so that investors, bankers and boards can use a fuller picture of trading when they assess London’s appeal as a listing venue.

Interestingly, data gaps were responsible for 68% of anti-money laundering (AML) fines issued to UK financial institutions over the past five years, totaling more than £430 million, according to a review of 22 enforcement cases by compliance technology firm Kyckr.

Kyckr said these findings reflect a regulatory shift by the Financial Conduct Authority, which is increasingly focused on the practical execution of AML policies rather than their presence on paper.