Market deregulation is key to reinforcing the UK's position in the financial world

Austin Review

Democratisation of investment in London’s capital markets is crucial as Britain seeks to reinforce its position in the financial world. So, I welcome recommendations by Freshfields lawyer Mark Austin, who has drawn up a series of market deregulation proposals now backed by The Treasury.

People sometimes say that real estate investment, where I have specialised for 30 years, is becoming the preserve of Blackstone, Brookfield and Bill Gates as private equity giants and ultra-high net worth individuals play a bigger and bigger part in the landscape. But there is no doubt that the UK's overall capital markets scene - including investment in listed property companies - has become a big boys' game. In 1963, the man or woman in the street owned 54% of all the shares in issue on the London Stock Exchange. By 2012, this had fallen to a low point of 10.1%, and has only recover...