RE: Same time last year rns6 Jan 2026 14:45
Hi JKF9
don’t agree that today’s RNS would automatically be misleading if a deal is announced shortly after.
A few key points:
• A Rule 11 / share price movement RNS (often called a speeding ticket) is a point-in-time statement, not a forward-looking one.
• It answers a very specific question: “Is there any undisclosed inside information at this moment that explains the share price movement?”
• If negotiations are incomplete, non-binding, or not price-sensitive yet, directors are correct to say there is nothing to disclose.
• Knowing discussions are ongoing is not the same as having disclosable inside information.
• UK market rules are clear: talks only become inside information once they are sufficiently advanced, certain, and price-sensitive.
• Boards are specifically advised not to pre-announce early-stage or uncertain negotiations.
• If directors had said “negotiations are progressing” when they are not yet disclosable, that could actually create a regulatory problem.
• It risks misleading the market by implying certainty or imminence where none legally exists.
• Silence is often the correct and compliant option.
• The RNS does not say “nothing will happen”.
• It says there is nothing requiring disclosure today.
• That remains true even if something becomes disclosable tomorrow or next week.
• This is exactly why companies sometimes issue a speeding ticket before a major announcement.
• It resets the market
• Puts a compliance marker down
• Allows the company to release full details only when they are legally able to do so
• From a practical standpoint, an early speeding ticket followed by a material RNS is often cleaner:
• Less risk of suspension
• Less risk of an after-the-fact regulatory challenge
• Clear audit trail showing the board acted properly at each stage
• If anything, remaining silent while the share price moves sharply without issuing a clarification can attract more regulatory scrutiny, not less.
In short:
• The RNS should be taken at face value for today
• It does not preclude news shortly after
• And issuing it does not imply directors are being misleading, provided negotiations were not yet disclosable at the time
That’s how AIM-style disclosure works in practice, even if it feels counter-intuitive from the outside.
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