The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has extended the deadline for its consultation on the proposed framework for the UK Equity Consolidated Tape. The consultation period for CP25/31 will now close on 13 February 2026, providing market participants with additional time to respond.
CP25/31 sets out the regulatory architecture for a UK equity consolidated tape, including data-contribution obligations for trading venues and Approved Publication Arrangements (APAs), alongside the governance, operational and commercial expectations for a future Consolidated Tape Provider (CTP).
At the heart of the FCA’s plan is a centralised, standardised view of UK equity market activity. The tape would aggregate post-trade data and selected pre-trade information – most notably an attributed best bid and offer – across lit venues and OTC trading. The objective is to address long-standing fragmentation in UK equity data, where firms currently rely on multiple proprietary feeds with inconsistent formats, latency profiles and licensing terms.
The consultation extension is also notable for what it signals about the next phase of the project. Potential CTP candidates may use the additional time to refine expressions of interest, stress-test technical architectures and clarify commercial models. Market participants, meanwhile, are being asked to provide concrete evidence on implementation costs, governance safeguards and how the tape could be consumed operationally rather than remaining a purely analytical tool.
While the FCA has indicated that a policy statement will follow once responses are assessed, the timetable points toward a target go-live in 2027. That places the UK on a trajectory that broadly parallels, but does not replicate, the EU’s own consolidated tape ambitions.
For now, the extended deadline creates a wider window for engagement. Whether the consolidated tape ultimately delivers simpler access and lower costs will hinge less on the concept itself and more on the details now being debated: data scope, pricing discipline and the operational realities of integrating a single market view into day-to-day trading and compliance workflows.
Subscribe to our newsletter
