This chapter applies to a primary information provider and a person that is applying for approval as a primary information provider.

A person wishing to be included on the list of primary information providers, must apply to the FCA for approval as a primary information provider by submitting the following to the FCA:

1. (1)

   the name, registered office address, registered number and the names and addresses of the directors and company secretary of the person applying for approval and, where applicable, the corporate group to which the person belongs;

2. (2)

   details of all the arrangements that it has established or it intends to establish with media operators in the United Kingdom1for the dissemination of regulated information;

3. (3)

   names, addresses, dates of birth and, where applicable, national insurance numbers, of its senior management;

4. (4)

   details of the fees it proposes to charge persons in relation to the dissemination of regulated information;

5. (5)

   a report by a reporting accountant qualified to act as an auditor confirming that in their opinion the person applying for approval as a primary information provider will be capable of satisfying the continuing obligations set out in DTR 8.4; and

6. (6)

   the application fee set out in FEES 3.

A person wishing to be included on the list of primary information providers must also submit to the FCA:

1. (1)

   all additional documents, explanations and information that the FCA may reasonably require to decide whether to grant an application for approval as a primary information provider; and

2. (2)

   verification of any documents, explanations and information provided to the FCA in such a manner as the FCA may reasonably require under (1).

The FCA will approve a person as a primary information provider only if it is satisfied that the person will be able to:

1. (1)

   disseminate regulated information in a manner ensuring fast access to regulated information on a non-discriminatory basis; and

2. (2)

   satisfy the continuing obligations set out in DTR 8.4.

A primary information provider must establish and maintain adequate arrangements with media operators in the United Kingdom3for the dissemination of regulated information.

Unless the regulated information is embargoed by the person who submitted it or by the FCA, a primary information provider must disseminate all regulated information that it receives as soon as possible.

A primary information provider must prioritise the order of dissemination of pending regulated information according to the headline information, except that a primary information provider must prioritise the dissemination of regulated information that is submitted by the FCA if the FCA requests it.

A primary information provider must set out clearly:

1. (1)

   the services it provides in relation to the dissemination of regulated information; and

2. (2)

   the fees it charges for the provision of those services.

A primary information provider must not charge a regulatory body listed in DTR 8 Annex 1 for the dissemination of regulated information.

A primary information provider must:

1. (1)

   disseminate regulated information at least between the hours of 7:00 am and 6:30 pm on any business day;

2. (2)

   be able to receive regulated information at all times;

3. (3)

   provide service support at least between the hours of 7.00 am and 6.30 pm on any business day to:

   1. (a)

      any person who has requested the dissemination of regulated information; and

   2. (b)

      any media operator with whom the primary information provider has an arrangement for the dissemination of regulated information; and

4. (4)

   have staff available to assist the FCA exercise its functions in relation to the dissemination of regulated information by the primary information provider at least between the hours of 7.00 am and 6.30 pm on any business day.

A primary information provider must ensure that if circumstances arise which prevent it from disseminating and continuously receiving regulated information, it has adequate arrangements in place to ensure that it can continue to satisfy its obligations as a primary information provider with minimal disruption.

A primary information provider must:

1. (1)

   ensure that regulated information is handled securely; and

2. (2)

   provide persons wishing to disseminate regulated information with a secure means of communicating regulated information to the primary information provider.

A primary information provider must have arrangements in place to prevent the misuse of regulated information by any of its staff.

A primary information provider must not make substantive changes to the regulated information it receives, unless requested by the issuer or other organisation who submitted the regulated information for dissemination.

A primary information provider must record the following information for each announcement of regulated information it disseminates:

1. (1)

   the name of any person who communicates regulated information on behalf of an issuer or other organisation to the primary information provider;

2. (2)

   the name of the issuer or organisation on whose behalf the regulated information is communicated;

3. (3)

   the security validation details of the issuer or organisation;

4. (4)

   the date and time the regulated information is received by the primary information provider;

5. (5)

   details of the form in which the regulated information is received by the primary information provider;

6. (6)

   if applicable, details of any embargo placed by the issuer, organisation or the FCA on the regulated information;

7. (7)

   details of all persons who are authorised by the primary information provider to have access to the regulated information;

8. (8)

   if applicable, details of, and reasons for, any substantive change made to the regulated information in accordance with DTR 8.4.13 R; and

9. (9)

   the date and time the primary information provider disseminates the regulated information to the media operator.

A primary information provider must retain the records required under DTR 8.4.15 R for 3 years.

Records must be capable of timely retrieval.

A primary information provider that has had its approval cancelled must continue to comply with its record keeping obligations in DTR 8.4.16 R to DTR 8.4.17 R.

A primary information provider must ensure that there is certainty about the:

1. (1)

   identity of any person who submits regulated information on behalf of an issuer or organisation to the primary information provider;

2. (2)

   authority of the person to submit the regulated information on behalf of the issuer or organisation; and

3. (3)

   identity of the issuer or organisation on whose behalf the regulated information is submitted.

A primary information provider must ensure that there is no significant risk of corruption of regulated information during its submission, handling and dissemination.

A primary information provider must disseminate regulated information that has been submitted by:

1. (1)

   an issuer; or

2. (2)

   any person acting as agent for an issuer; or

3. (3)

   any regulatory body listed in DTR 8 Annex 1; or

4. (4)

   any other person required to submit regulated information.

A primary information provider must disseminate regulated information to any media operator with whom it has an arrangement in place for the dissemination of regulated information in:

1. (1)

   unedited full text as submitted to the primary information provider; and

2. (2)

   an industry standard format.

Regulated information disseminated to a media operator by a primary information provider must contain the following:

1. (1)

   identification of the information as regulated information which has been disseminated by a primary information provider;

2. (2)

   the unique identification number for the item of regulated information;

3. (3)

   the sequence number of the regulated information;

4. (4)

   a clear indication of the start of the regulated information;

5. (5)

   the name of the issuer or organisation concerned;

6. (6)

   [deleted]4

7. (7)

   the headline information relevant to the regulated information;

8. (8)

   a headline capturing the subject matter of the regulated information;

9. (9)

   the time and date the regulated information was submitted to the primary information provider;

10. (10)

    the time and date the regulated information was disseminated by the primary information provider; and

11. (11)

    a clear indication of the end of the regulated information.

A primary information provider must add the appropriate headline information to regulated information it disseminates.

DTR 8.4.24 R does not apply when a primary information provider disseminates information it has received from a recognised investment exchange.

A primary information provider must ensure that all regulated information it receives is disseminated successfully to all media operators with whom it has arrangements for the dissemination of regulated information.

If a primary information provider becomes aware that the dissemination of regulated information has failed, it must remedy the failure as soon as possible.

If requested by the person who has submitted the regulated information for dissemination, a primary information provider must place an embargo on the regulated information for release at the date and time specified by the person who submitted the regulated information.

If requested by the FCA, a primary information provider must:

1. (1)

   place an embargo on regulated information; or

2. (2)

   cancel any embargo placed on regulated information by the person that has submitted the regulated information and disseminate the regulated information; or

3. (3)

   cancel any embargo placed on regulated information by the FCA and disseminate the regulated information.

A primary information provider must supply free of charge all regulated information that it disseminates, exclusive of all other information, to the FCA or an agent appointed by the FCA to act on its behalf. Such information must be supplied to the FCA using an FCA-specified application programme interface (API) and standardised schema.5

A primary information provider must have effective systems and controls in place to ensure that it can comply with its continuing obligations in DTR 8.4.1 R to DTR 8.4.30 R.

A primary information provider must at all times:

1. (1)

   deal with the FCA in an open and cooperative manner; and

2. (2)

   deal with all enquiries raised by the FCA as soon as possible.

4A primary information provider must notify the FCA as soon as practicable of any intended changes to its ownership or control.

A primary information provider must notify the FCA immediately if:

1. (1)

   there is any change to the names and contact details of staff who are available to assist the FCA exercise its functions in relation to the dissemination of regulated information by the primary information provider; or

2. (2)

   any contractual arrangement between the primary information provider and a media operator regarding the dissemination of regulated information is terminated; or

3. (3)

   any changes are proposed to the fees the primary information provider charges in relation to the dissemination of regulated information; or

4. (4)

   it becomes aware of any matter which in its reasonable opinion would be likely to affect its ability to satisfy its obligations in DTR 8.4.

If a primary information provider learns of a breach of its security it must:

1. (1)

   notify the FCA immediately; and

2. (2)

   provide the FCA as soon as possible with a report containing details of the security breach and the steps taken to rectify it.

A primary information provider must notify the FCA and its clients as soon as possible if its ability to disseminate or continuously receive regulated information is disrupted.

If a primary information provider has its approval cancelled it must immediately notify its clients, regulatory bodies and any media operator with whom it has an arrangement for the dissemination of regulated information that it is no longer approved as a primary information provider.

1. (1)

   Notifications must be made in writing.

2. (2)

   Notifications to the FCA must be sent to the following address:

   1. Primary Market Specialist Supervision4

      Enforcement and Market Oversight Division1

      The Financial Conduct Authority

      12 Endeavour Square2

      London E20 1JN2

      Email: pmss@fca.org.uk4

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A primary information provider must pay the annual fee set out in FEES 4 in order to remain on the list of primary information providers.

A primary information provider must submit to the FCA an annual report prepared by a reporting accountant qualified to act as auditor which states that the primary information provider has satisfied its continuing obligations in DTR 8.4 in the preceding 12 months.

The annual report must be sent to the FCA within 3 months of the anniversary of the date of the primary information provider's approval as a primary information provider.

1. (1)

   The FCA may require a primary information provider to provide specified information or specified documents to the FCA.

2. (2)

   The primary information provider must as soon as practicable provide to the FCA any information or documents it has been required to provide under (1).

3. (3)

   This rule applies only to information or documents reasonably required by the FCA in connection with the performance of its functions in relation to a primary information provider.

A request by a primary information provider for its approval as a primary information provider to be suspended must be in writing and must include:

1. (1)

   the primary information provider's name;

2. (2)

   a clear explanation of the background and reasons for the request;

3. (3)

   the date on which the primary information provider requests the suspension to take effect; and

4. (4)

   the name and contact details of the person at the primary information provider with whom the FCA should liaise in relation to the request.

A request by a primary information provider for its approval as a primary information provider to be cancelled must be in writing and must include:

1. (1)

   the primary information provider's name;

2. (2)

   a clear explanation of the background and reasons for the request;

3. (3)

   the date on which the primary information provider requests the cancellation to take effect; and

4. (4)

   the name and contact details of the person at the primary information provider with whom the FCA should liaise in relation to the request.