Related provisions for SYSC 5.2.52

85

(1)

It is unlawful for transferable securities to which this subsection applies to be offered to the public in the United Kingdom unless an approved prospectus has been made available to the public before the offer is made.

(2)

It is unlawful to request the admission of transferable securities to which this subsection applies to trading on a regulated market situated or operating in the United Kingdom unless an approved prospectus has been made available to the public before the request is made.

(3)

A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) is guilty of an offence and liable –

(a)

on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;

(b)

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine or both.

(4)

A contravention of subsection (1) or (2) is actionable, at the suit of a person who suffers loss as a result of the contravention, subject to the defences and other incidents applying to actions for breach of statutory duty.

(5)

Subsection (1) applies to all transferable securities other than –

(a)

those listed in Schedule 11A;

(b)

such other transferable securities as may be specified in prospectus rules [see PR 1.2.2 R].

(6)

Subsection (2) applies to all transferable securities other than –

(a)

those listed in Part 1 of Schedule 11A;

(b)

such other transferable securities as may be specified in prospectus rules [see PR 1.2.3 R].

(7)

"Approved prospectus" means, in relation to transferable securities to which this section applies, a prospectus approved by the competent authority of the home State in relation to the issuer of the securities.

86

Exempt offers to the public

(1)

A person does not contravene section 85(1) if –

(a)

the offer is made to or directed at qualified investors only;

(b)

the offer is made to or directed at fewer than 1502 persons, other than qualified investors, per EEA State;

(c)

the minimum consideration which may be paid by any person for transferable securities acquired by him pursuant to the offer is at least 100,0003 euros (or an equivalent amount);

(d)

the transferable securities being offered are denominated in amounts of at least 100,0003 euros (or equivalent amounts);

(e)

the total consideration for the transferable securities being offered in the EEA states3 cannot exceed 100,000 euros (or an equivalent amount); or3

3(f)

the offer falls within subsection (1A).

3(1A)

An offer (“the current offer”) falls within this subsection where transferable securities are resold or placed through a financial intermediary where:

3(a)

the transferable securities have previously been the subject of one or more offers to the public;

3(b)

in respect of one or more of those previous offers, any of paragraphs (a) to (e) of subsection (1) applied;

3(c)

a prospectus is available for the securities which has been approved by the FCA and meets either of the conditions in subsection (1B);4 and

3(d)

the issuer or other person who was responsible for drawing up the prospectus has given written consent to the use of the prospectus for the purpose of the current offer.4

4(1B)

The conditions referred to in subsection (1A)(c) are:

(a)

that the prospectus was approved by the FCA no earlier than 12 months before the date the current offer is made, and is supplemented by every supplementary prospectus which was required to be submitted under section 87G; or

(b)

in the case of non-equity transferable securities falling within article 5(4)(b) of the prospectus directive, that the securities concerned have not ceased to be issued in a continuous or repeated manner.

(2)

Where -

(a)

a person who is not a qualified investor ("the client") has engaged a qualified investor falling within point (1) of Section 1 of Annex II to the markets in financial instruments directive3 to act as his agent; and

(b)

the terms on which the qualified investor is engaged enable him to make decisions concerning the acceptance of offers of transferable securities on the client's behalf without reference to the client,

an offer made to or directed at the qualified investor is not to be regarded for the purposes of subsection (1) as also having been made to or directed at the client.

(3)

For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), the making of an offer of transferable securities to –

(a)

trustees of a trust,

(b)

members of a partnership in their capacity as such, or

(c)

two or more persons jointly,

is to be treated as the making of an offer to a single person.

(4)

In determining whether subsection (1)(e) is satisfied in relation to an offer ("offer A"), offer A is to be taken together with any other offer of transferable securities of the same class made by the same person which –

(a)

was open at any time within the period of 12 months ending with the date on which offer A is first made; and

(b)

had previously satisfied subsection (1)(e).

(5)

For the purposes of this section, an amount (in relation to an amount denominated in euros) is an "equivalent amount" if it is an amount of equal value denominated wholly or partly in another currency or unit of account.

(6)

The equivalent is to be calculated at the latest practicable date before (but in any event not more than 3 working days before) the date on which the offer is first made.

(7)

"Qualified investor" in relation to an offer of transferable securities,3 means –

(a)

a person described in points (1) to (4) of Section I of Annex II to the markets in financial instruments directive, other than a person who, before the making of the offer, has agreed in writing with the relevant firm (or each of the relevant firms) to be treated as a non-professional client in accordance with the final paragraph of Section I of Annex II to that directive;3

(b)

a person who has made a request to one or more relevant firms to be treated as a professional client in accordance with Section II of Annex II to that directive and has not subsequently, but before the making of the offer, agreed in writing with that relevant firm (or each of those relevant firms) to be treated as a non-professional client in accordance with the final paragraph of Section I of Annex II to that directive;3

(c)

a person who is recognised as an eligible counterparty in accordance with article 24 of that directive and has not, before the making of the offer, agreed in writing with the relevant firm (or each of the relevant firms) to be treated as a non-professional client in accordance with the final paragraph of Section I of Annex II of that directive;3

3(d)

a person whom any relevant firm is authorised to continue to treat as a professional client in accordance with article 71(6) of that directive.

3(8)

In subsection (7) “relevant firm” means an investment firm or credit institution acting in connection with the offer.

3(9)

Investment firms and credit institutions must communicate their classification of their clients as being or not being qualified investors on request to an issuer, subject to complying with the Data Protection Act 1998 or any directly applicable EU legislation relating to data protection.

3(10)

In subsections (8) and (9) -

“credit institution” means -

(a) a credit institution authorised under the banking consolidation directive; or

(b) an institution which would satisfy the requirements for authorisation as a credit institution under that directive if it had its registered office (or if it does not have one, its head office) in an EEA State.