This Practice Note examines the keys steps and issues that a company will need to take and consider prior to commencing the process of applying for an initial admission to trading on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Certain key steps and issues will need to taken and considered by a company (company) prior to commencing the process of applying for an initial admission to trading on AIM (AIM admission). Initial considerations The AIM admission process typically takes between three to six months to complete from the initial all parties meeting and will involve a considerable amount of management time. It is important that prior to commencing this process the company gives careful consideration to: • the reasons for the company seeking an AIM admission, eg raising capital, creating liquidity for the company's shares, enabling incentivisation of employees, raising the profile of the company etc, and whether it is right for the company in the specific circumstances. In particular, consideration should be given to the available alternatives to AIM admission, eg:

STOP PRESS: Significant reforms to the UK prospectus regime came into force on 19 January 2026. The new rules governing public offers of securities and admissions to trading in the UK are principally set out in the Public Offers and Admissions to Trading Regulations 2024, SI 2024/105, (the POATRs) and FCA sourcebook, The Prospectus Rules: Admission to Trading on a Regulated Market (PRM).  The UK Prospectus Regulation and the FCA Prospectus Regulation Rules have been repealed. The reforms are designed to simplify capital raising and significantly reduce the occasions when a company is required to publish an FCA approved prospectus for a further issue of shares. For full information on the changes see Practice Note: UK prospectus regime reform. This Practice Note reflects the prospectus regime in force prior to 19 January 2026. This Practice Note examines the key steps and issues that a UK incorporated commercial company will need to take and consider prior to making an application for the initial admission

Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) allow communities to set out planning policies for the development and use of land in the neighbourhood. They form part of the statutory development plan. See Practice Note: Introduction to neighbourhood planning for further information on the basics of neighbourhood planning, including: neighbourhood development orders (NDOs); community rights to build; designating neighbourhood forums and areas; referendums; examination; funding; and the relationship between NDPs and other policy and legislation. Guidance An NDP must meet the basic conditions, including having regard to national policies and advice issued by the Secretary of State and being in general conformity with the strategic policies contained in the development plan. National policy is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The August 2026 NPPF distinguishes between policies for plan-making and national decision-making policies. The policies for plan-making must be taken into account when preparing any part of the development plan. NDP policies should not duplicate, substantively restate or be inconsistent with national decision-making policies, unless directed by another policy in the NPPF. From a date to be appointed,

Introduction to the FCA authorisation process Preparing an application for Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation is a challenging task. Many documents must be prepared and sent to the FCA for their consideration. While different types of applications vary in their approach, structure and content, the central document of most applications is the regulatory business plan—often referenced as the ‘RBP’. This Practice Note provides guidance on the development of the RBP. The guidance is broadly applicable for applicants in all main financial services sectors: investment, insurance intermediation, mortgages, credit and payment services. Applications to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), however, (for banks and risk-taking insurers, for example) are a specialist process and out of scope for this Practice Note. For more information about the FCA’s authorisation process, see: Obtaining authorisation and fees—overview. See also: FCA—Authorisation, FCA—How to apply for authorisation or registration and FCA—Sample business plan. Importance of the regulatory business plan An applicant firm’s RBP is the critical document within an authorisation application. It provides the FCA with detailed information regarding

Completing a Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) proposal form is a time consuming task, and involves the collation of a significant amount of information about your firm. On its own, however, it does not always provide a sufficient platform for you to adequately present your firm to the market. When you consider the cost of your PII is frequently one of your single largest outlays, you will appreciate that there are circumstances where putting together a very strong presentation to insurers can more than repay the investment in time. This Practice Note discusses whether you should consider including a risk management submission in your renewal presentation and its likely contents. Should you include a risk management submission? You should consider including a risk management submission in your renewal presentation if your practice: • has a poor or worse than average claims experience (in terms of number and/or value of claims) • has recently undergone or is about to undergo a restructure or merger • has changed risk profile lately, eg addition

The interview stage is your opportunity to present your proposal to the prospective client. Lack of preparation is the most common reason for losing at the interview stage. Even if team selection has been good, presenting without sufficient practice is a recipe for disaster. This Practice Note gives guidance about the key steps and considerations when preparing to a tender presentation. Get organised At the earliest opportunity, hold a team meeting with all the pitch team present—see Precedent: Preparing for a tender presentation—meeting agenda. Ideally, this first meeting should be held at least four to five working days before the interview. Check the administration arrangements in the request for proposal (RFP) or invitation to tender (ITT). If the document is silent about this, check directly with the client: • how much time is available • the preferred team size and composition • the location • the room type • the facilities and technology in the presentation location • who will be there from the client side and what their roles in the decision-making

Context Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an assessment of a project’s likely significant environmental effects. EIA must be carried out for certain types of projects before they can be granted planning permission. EIA helps to ensure that the importance of the predicted effects of a project, and the scope for reducing them, are properly understood by the public and the local planning authority (LPA) before granting planning permission. See Practice Note: Environmental impact assessments—key points. An environmental statement (ES) records the findings of the EIA. For developers, the preparation of an ES allows environmental considerations to be fully taken into account at the design stage of the project. Undertaking a comprehensive and thorough EIA may increase the chances of planning permission being granted. Legislation and guidance EIA in respect of town and country planning matters is governed by: • the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (English EIA Regulations), SI 2017/571 in England, and • the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Wales) Regulations 2017 (Welsh EIA Regulations), SI 2017/567 in Wales together

This Practice Note considers the circumstances in which a person receiving care in a care home may be able to defer payment of the costs by entering into a deferred payment agreement (DPA) and the steps that a local authority should take to ensure the DPA provides effective security for the sums advanced. A DPA is an agreement whereby the local authority meets the cost of a person’s care home placement when they would otherwise have to meet that cost themselves. The sums paid by the local authority accrue as a debt which is secured against a suitable asset (usually the person’s former home). The debt is repayable after the person dies or, if sooner, when the property or other security is sold. Deferred payment agreements—relevant law The first points of reference when considering DPAs are the statute, regulations and guidance. These are: • sections 34 and 35 of the Care Act 2014 (CA 2014) • the Care and Support (Deferred Payment) Regulations 2014,

The main purpose of preparing electronic bundles is to create a user-friendly document set and to make sure that everyone involved in the hearing has the same copy of the court documents. This Practice Note provides guidance on preparing electronic court bundles in PDF format. Bundles for large commercial trials are likely to be submitted by external bundle providers. Most other bundles can be submitted to the court following the procedure set out in HMCTS Document Upload Centre—Professional Users Guide or by using HMCTS’ electronic filing and case management system, CE-File. The procedure for using CE-File is set out in CPR PD 5C—for more information on using CE-File, see Practice Note: How to use CE-File—from 1 October 2025. This Practice Note should be read in conjunction with Practice Note: Electronic bundles in civil proceedings and the General guidance on electronic court bundles issued by the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary on 29 November 2021 (CTJ guidance). How to prepare PDF bundles—basic steps There

Law360: Chris Lynch, the former CEO of analytic database management software company Vertica, once said, 'Big data is at the foundation of all of the megatrends that are happening today, from social to mobile to the cloud to gaming.'

One of the challenges lawyers face when meeting a prospect is the lack of knowledge of the contact and the business they represent. Preparation for the first few meetings is therefore very important in order to have the best possible chance of developing the relationship. This Practice Note provides guidance to help a lawyer prepare for a meeting with a business prospect. Ten steps to a successful meeting The following steps will help you prepare for a business development (BD) meeting and should give you a better chance of achieving a successful outcome. Conduct initial research Identify the key stakeholders and decision makers in your target organisation. Gather as much information as possible about the person you are seeing and the organisation they represent, eg: • on the person—what their current role is, their position in the hierarchy and what their previous role was • on the organisation—what it does, the size of the business and what news has there been about it over the last year Consider setting up regular