The UK Financial Conduct Authority is moving a step closer to establishing a consolidated tape for equities, launching a consultation that lays out how such a system could finally take shape. The initiative is pitched as a way to bring clarity to a market structure where trading is spread across numerous venues, making liquidity harder to read than many participants would like.
According to the FCA, the current multi-venue landscape has clear competitive benefits but comes with a downside: market participants risk underestimating liquidity because no single source shows the full picture. A consolidated tape, pulling together data from all UK equity trading venues, is described as a tool to address this gap by offering a consistent view of prices and volumes. The regulator frames this as supportive not only for day-to-day trading but also for the UK’s efforts to remain internationally competitive.
What the FCA is proposing
The consultation follows what the authority describes as extensive engagement with the industry. The preferred model would combine post-trade data with attributed best bid and offer prices, essentially the first level of pre-trade data. The FCA argues that this strikes a balance between usefulness and implementability, avoiding delays or excessive risk while still giving a meaningful improvement in transparency.
If the proposal proceeds, the FCA expects the tape to be operational in 2027. A two-year review is planned to assess how well the framework works in practice and whether its scope, including the amount of pre-trade data, should be extended.
Challenge
Simon Walls, the FCA’s interim executive director of markets, highlighted the challenge the tape aims to solve, saying that while the UK’s trading landscape “can be great for competition”, it complicates efforts to judge liquidity across the market. The consolidated tape is presented as the regulator’s response to that problem.
The consultation remains open until 30 January 2026.
