Travers Smith LLP has advised Tomoro on its acquisition by OpenAI in connection with OpenAI's newly launched OpenAI Deployment Company.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Bridgepoint on its co-investment alongside ECI Partners in Helio Intelligence, Europe’s leading provider of AI-enabled political intelligence and public affairs monitoring services.

Travers Smith has advised long-standing client Inflexion on its minority investment in Marktlink Capital, a leading Benelux fund of funds manager providing private investors with access to private markets. The investment is being made by Partnership Capital III, Inflexion's dedicated minority fund.

RICS' new service charge residential management code came into effect on 7 April 2026. It provides, amongst other things, guidance for landlords and managing agents on key provisions in the Building Safety Act 2022.

Travers Smith has advised Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel company, as Sole Sponsor to Mortgage Advice Bureau ("MAB") on its move from AIM to a listing on the Official List of the FCA, and to trading on the Main Market of the LSE.

Travers Smith has advised a consortium of lenders on the financing arrangements supporting Arcus Infrastructure Partners’ acquisition of Wifinity, a market-leading specialist connectivity services provider. Arcus acquired Wifinity through Arcus European Infrastructure Fund 3 SCSp.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry 

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has just published a consultation paper (Consultation Paper 26/14: Changes to the information flows for UK equity IPOs) on removing rules which require a mandatory waiting period between the publication of an IPO prospectus or registration document, and the release of pre-deal investment research by syndicate bank analysts.

Now is the time to prepare and submit annual returns in respect of any employee share plan or management incentive arrangement you had in place during the 2025/26 tax year. 

On 21 April 2026, the Council of the European Union gave final approval to a new Directive on combating corruption (the "Directive"). This is a significant move to harmonise the current patchwork of legislation across the EU Member States that applies at present, given that EU measures to date have been high level and directional rather than prescriptive. The Directive will result in a single, harmonised set of criminal offences based on unified definitions, penalties and prevention measures applicable across the public and private sectors, though individual Member States can still choose to go further than required by the Directive.

We recently saw two of the largest DeFi exploits of 2026 within just 18 days: the approximately US$285 million breach of the Drift Protocol on Solana on 1 April^[1] and the approximately US$292 million exploit from Kelp DAO on 18 April^[2]. While the attack methods differed, a common theme was that neither were "hacks" in the straightforward sense of exploits of computer code; rather each attack exploited points of weakness within the governance structures around each DeFi application.  

Travers Smith has advised Peel Hunt and Stifel as Joint Sponsors to Young & Co.’s Brewery, P.L.C. ("Young's"), on its move from AIM to a listing on the Official List of the FCA, and to trading on the Main Market of the LSE.

The world of environmental product legislation is not immune to the regulatory uncertainty that has been a defining feature of the sustainability landscape over the past few years. While the direction of travel in the EU remains clear—towards greater digitalisation, harmonisation and circularity—the sheer volume and pace of legislative activity demands close attention from any business placing products on the European market.

It is common, if not trite, to say that the pace of change in the cryptoassets field is very rapid, but on the UK regulatory front, April 2026 has surely brought us "peak pace": on 15 April 2026, the FCA published CP26/13, including draft guidance on the regulatory perimeter (referred to as "New PERG"), one of the last pieces of the jigsaw for firms pulling together their plans to enter (or not) the UK's cryptoassets regulatory system. Just six days later, His Majesty's Treasury (HMT) published details of a package of amendments to its earlier  legislation establishing the perimeter.   

Welcome to the April 2026 edition of Travers Smith's Quarterly Listed Company Update. This issue highlights the latest regulatory developments and guidance relevant to listed companies, as well as key trends and practical points for consideration in the coming months.

On 21 April 2026, the Government announced a package of measures designed to reduce the influence of volatile international gas prices on electricity bills in Great Britain. The centrepiece is a new Wholesale Contracts for Difference ("WCfD") scheme (a voluntary fixed-price contract to be offered to existing low-carbon generators currently exposed to wholesale market prices) alongside an increase in the Electricity Generator Levy ("EGL") from 45% to 55%. The announcement follows the second major fossil fuel price shock this decade, triggered by conflict in the Middle East and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has pushed wholesale power prices above £100/MWh in recent weeks.

Travers Smith LLP has advised Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. on regulatory aspects of its affiliate's acquisition of Lendco Limited ("Lendco") from Cabot Square Capital ("Cabot") and minority shareholders. The transaction was signed on 13 April 2026 and is expected to complete in the coming weeks.

The recent High Court decision in California State Teachers' Retirement System & Ors v Boohoo Group plc [2026] EWHC 335 (Comm) underscores how questions of reliance, causation and case management may shape the future of securities claims against listed corporates accused of misleading the market. 

Travers Smith has advised Fortifi Food Processing Solutions ("Fortifi"), a global leader in food processing automation, on the acquisition of Deighton Manufacturing (UK) Ltd, a leading provider of forming, portioning, coating and frying equipment. The acquisition reflects Fortifi's broader strategy to offer complete, full-line solutions that serve the needs of food processors of all sizes.

Travers Smith has advised Enviromena on an £825m senior portfolio financing package, marking one of the largest solar financings in the UK this year and enabling a major expansion of its renewable energy platform.