STOP PRESS: A significant restructuring of the UK listing regime came into effect on 29 July 2024 which included the removal of the premium and standard listing segments and the creation of a single listing category for equity shares in commercial companies. The commercial companies category is heavily disclosure-based and sits alongside other listing categories such as the shell companies, secondary listing and closed ended investment fund categories.  A new UK Listing Rules sourcebook came into force to implement the changes and the previous Listing Rules sourcebook was revoked. For further information see Practice Note: Reform of the UK listing regime—fundamentals. This Practice Note reflects the listing regime prior to 29 July 2024.

This Practice Note relates to the admission of depositary receipts, commonly referred to as global depositary receipts (GDRs), to listing on the official list of the financial conduct authority (FCA) and to trading on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange (Main Market) (LSE). GDRs are negotiable certificates issued by depositary banks which represent ownership of a certain number of a company’s