Mark Austin Appointed to Chair UK Government’s Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce (DEMAT)

London partner Mark Austin CBE has been appointed to establish and chair the Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce (DEMAT). The taskforce is set to play a crucial role in removing paper share certificates and moving to a fully intermediated system of shareholding in the UK, marking a significant step forward in the evolution of the financial infrastructure of the UK’s capital markets.

DEMAT forms part of the government’s wider Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, a comprehensive strategy designed to drive forward the digitalisation of the UK’s wholesale financial markets.

Mark also sits on the FCA’s Markets Practitioner Panel and is the former chair of the FCA’s Listing Authority Advisory Panel. He is also a member of the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce (CMIT), which was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in July 2022 and is tasked with reforming the UK’s capital markets. In 2021 he was appointed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to chair the Secondary Capital Raising Review, which made recommendations to improve the efficiency of capital raising for listed companies in the UK, and which reported in July 2022.