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Property advisers are unaware of new rules that could bury them under a mountain of paperwork. A new European Union directive, which came into force yesterday, means agents will have to keep lists of people working on corporate deals. In a bid to cut insider dealing, the Market Abuse Directive forces advisers to listed companies to maintain lists of staff that might be exposed to inside information. Lists will have to be kept for a minimum of five years and advisers will have to note when staff come off the list and when new members come into the deal. The majority of agents contacted by EG were not aware of the directive’s existence. Jonathan Davies, partner at commercial law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, said the new directive would force a heavy burden of record keeping on property advisers. |
The listed company clients of a property adviser will have legal responsibility when it comes to maintaining the lists, but advisers will put the lists together. “The FSA requires listed companies to obtain guarantees that their advisers’ lists are fully compliant,” Davies said. “News that the EU and the FSA are to force so many businesses into an endless cycle of record keeping is going to cause a lot of dismay and consternation.” Failure to maintain the lists would be a breach of FSA rules and could result in an unlimited financial penalty, said RPC. To comply with the directive, an office assistant who has copied documents concerning any deals for listed companies would also have to be on the list. Jonathon Holmes, an investment director at Savills, said the recent increase in the number of confidential deals being brokered meant agents were already keeping lists. |
Property advisers are unaware of new rules that could bury them under a mountain of paperwork.
A new European Union directive, which came into force yesterday, means agents will have to keep lists of people working on corporate deals.
In a bid to cut insider dealing, the Market Abuse Directive forces advisers to listed companies to maintain lists of staff that might be exposed to inside information.
Lists will have to be kept for a minimum of five years and advisers will have to note when staff come off the list and when new members come into the deal.
The majority of agents contacted by EG were not aware of the directive’s existence.
Jonathan Davies, partner at commercial law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, said the new directive would force a heavy burden of record keeping on property advisers.
The listed company clients of a property adviser will have legal responsibility when it comes to maintaining the lists, but advisers will put the lists together.
“The FSA requires listed companies to obtain guarantees that their advisers’ lists are fully compliant,” Davies said.
“News that the EU and the FSA are to force so many businesses into an endless cycle of record keeping is going to cause a lot of dismay and consternation.”
Failure to maintain the lists would be a breach of FSA rules and could result in an unlimited financial penalty, said RPC.
To comply with the directive, an office assistant who has copied documents concerning any deals for listed companies would also have to be on the list.
Jonathon Holmes, an investment director at Savills, said the recent increase in the number of confidential deals being brokered meant agents were already keeping lists.
