The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened the price auction phase for shortlisted bidders for its bond market consolidated tape (CT), a single, real time feed of post trade bond data drawn from every UK trading venue and Approved Publication Arrangement (APA). The initiative is intended to make bond markets “more transparent, efficient and liquid”, while lowering the cost of market data for end users.
In July, ESMA concluded its own CTP selection process by naming Ediphy’s fairCT consortium as the EU’s inaugural bond-tape provider, validating the competitive, industry-backed model the FCA has adopted. Faced with the same MiFID II/MiFIR ambition for a single tape that yielded no EU provider pre-Brexit, HM Treasury’s Wholesale Markets Review (2021) mandated new authority for the FCA to deliver a UK solution, explicitly highlighting gains for price discovery and best-execution analysis. Those powers were conferred through the Data Reporting Services Regulations (DRSP 2023), which overhauled the previous regime and empowered the FCA to run a competitive tender for and subsequently authorise, a UK bond Consolidated Tape Provider.The FCA Rulebook: From CP 23/15 to Handbook Notice 117
In CP 23/15 (July 2023) the FCA set out the core architecture: one CTP for bonds, compulsory data contribution by venues and APAs, and a two stage tender managed by the FCA. A follow up package in December 2023 (CP 23/33 and an accompanying Policy Statement) finalised most rules and asked whether the CTP should pay data contributors; respondents largely said no. The FCA agreed, confirming in Handbook Notice 117 (April 2024) that there will be no mandatory payments to trading venues or approved publication arrangements (APAs), removing a major cost uncertainty for bidders.
The regulator formally kicked off procurement in December 2024, then released a full Invitation to Tender (ITT) pack earlier this year in March. Bidders submitted initial proposals in spring, received FCA feedback, and lodged final quality bids in July. The process moved into its commercial endgame on 4 August 2025, when the FCA published anonymised Q&As, the draft contract schedule and opened the sealed bid price auction that will decide the winner.
Market Response
Buyside trade bodies have applauded the project. The Investment Association called the consultation “long awaited” and a cornerstone of cheaper market data. The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) likewise said the tape would cut data costs and improve liquidity. The Managed Funds Association (MFA) urged “swift implementation”, adding that a single provider chosen by tender was essential to avoid fragmentation.Since the Invitation to Tender (ITT) opened in March 2025, a diverse field of FinTechs and consortia has come forward to vie for the UK bond-CT mandate including:
Ediphy’s “fairCT” consortium has been the most visible contender. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, Ediphy has convened a roster of industry heavyweights – Cboe Global Markets, FactSet, Google Cloud, Norges Bank Investment Management, TP ICAP and UBS – to deliver an “industry utility” tape at reasonable cost. fairCT champions a collaborative governance model and has publicly committed to meeting the FCA’s latency and uptime requirements, positioning itself as a natural front-runner for both the UK and EU mandates.
Bondtape, backed by a consortium led by Finbourne Technology and Propellant Digital, is another bidder with deep fixed-income pedigree. Bondtape’s CEO-designate, Neil Ryan, emphasised that the firm’s cloud-native architecture and patented data-cleansing engines are designed from day one to scale across all UK trading venues and Approved Publication Arrangements (APAs) without prohibitive build-out costs.
Etrading Software has entered the race with ETS Connect, a “consolidator of consolidators” providing real-time, normalised bond post-trade feeds today, well ahead of the regulatory go live. ETS claims its traffic-light accuracy-flagging system and pre-integrated vendor connectors mitigate the commercial risks of on-boarding dozens of APAs and venues at launch, making ETS Connect a de facto “dress rehearsal” for the eventual official tape.
The FCA has not yet disclosed the identities of the shortlisted bidders. As the price-auction phase continues through September, bidders will be refining their commercial offers against the quality marks they secured in the ITT stage. The winner will not only shape the UK’s bond-market data architecture but also set the template for potentially extending consolidated-tape obligations into equities and ETFs.
The FCA states it will select the preferred bidder later in 2025, sign a conditional contract and then assess the winner’s CTP authorisation application. According to procurement papers and industry briefings, the successful provider is expected to connect venues and begin parallel testing through 2026, with full production go live by late 2026.
Implications for RegTech and Compliance Teams
Once operational, the bond CT will deliver a regulated, near real time stream that can be ingested directly or via vendors into surveillance, transaction cost analysis and best execution platforms. The FCA’s draft contract already lays down key performance indicators on latency and uptime and mandates a user consultative committee that buy and sell side firms can join.
Now would be a good time for firms to start planning/budgeting connectivity projects, updating execution policies to reference tape prices, and engaging with the eventual provider to shape licence tiers and display use permissions.
After years of debate, UK’s bond consolidated tape is at the decisive commitment stage. Statutory powers are in force, the rulebook is largely settled, and bidders are competing on price. With the EU CTP already announced, the message is clear – the tapes are coming, and early engagement can influence both cost and contractual outcomes.
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