Financial secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban MP, has announced that two deregulatory amendments to the EU Prospectus Directive have been brought into effect a year early by the UK to help small businesses access equity finance more cheaply and effectively.
The new requirements come into law on 31 July 2011, allowing businesses to take advantage of the measures from today. SMEs will now be able to raise equity finance of up to €5m, doubled from €2.5m, before a costly prospectus must be produced. They will also be able to target a larger pool of investors, up to 150 from 100. The government said the move will lift a significant number of small companies from the obligation to issue a prospectus, which it said will make accessing equity finance more efficient and save UK SMEs around £12m per year. Implementing the amendments a year e...
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