16/04/2025
Latest U.K. T+1 Settlement research highlights strong market engagement ahead of transition, but firms need to act now to prepare
According to T+1 research from the ValueExchange, led by the U.K. Accelerated Settlement Taskforce and sponsored by Euroclear, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) and several industry associations, 62% of global firms are now engaging on plans to prepare for the U.K. transition to T+1 in 2027.
The survey which includes insights from over 550 organisations across the investment cycle globally, found that the majority of firms are now beginning to prepare to meet the guidelines set out in the U.K. Accelerated Settlement Taskforce implementation plan, which requires firms to accelerate up to 29% of their post-trade instructions for U.K. trades.
However, challenges remain within the global industry. Most significant amongst the risks highlighted in the survey is the limited amount of planned activity in 2025, given the industry has targeted 31st December 2026 for when all trade allocations and confirmations will need to be completed on trade date. Up to 26% of respondents have indicated they will miss the target date. Given that 76% of respondents view trade-date processing as the most important enabler to the long-term success of the U.K.’s T+1 transition, it is crucial that firms are ready for this key milestone – and that they accelerate their project planning wherever possible.
To achieve this, up to 51% of firms feel that they need more clarity on the specific operational details behind the U.K. Taskforce’s industry guidelines to prepare in earnest, including efforts to standardise and automate key processes from account creation to securities issuance to corporate actions. Concerns around the potential for misalignment between the U.K. preparatory efforts and those in the European Union stand out as major industry dependencies.
“We are encouraged to see such strong, early engagement from the industry ahead of the UK’s transition to T+1 in 2027,” commented Andrew Douglas, Chair of the UK Accelerated Settlements Task Force. “With the industry Implementation Plan now published, firms now need to begin their T+1 preparations as soon as possible in 2025, so that they can be fully prepared for our industry deadlines in 2026 and 2027”
Chris Elms, CEO of Euroclear UK & International, said: “There is strong industry engagement on the UK’s T+1 transition, and it is encouraging that many firms are building on their North American T+1 investment and expecting those upgrades to benefit the UK transition. But, with 26% already at risk of missing the 2026 deadline for same-day allocations, and 35% unclear on what T+1 means in practice, particularly around funding and valuations, the need for decisive action is pressing.
Now is the time for market participants to move from planning into delivery mode. Euroclear will continue to play a key role in supporting the industry to navigate this transformation, providing the vital infrastructure to ensure that the UK can capture the full benefits of accelerated settlement from reduced risk to greater efficiency.”
“We were pleased to see that 62% of global firms are already proactively preparing for the transition to T+1 in 2027, demonstrating a commitment to efficient market operations and meeting accelerated settlement timelines,” said Val Wotton, Head of Global Institutional Trade Processing, NSCC and DTC, DTCC. “For firms that are currently anticipating they may miss the December 31, 2026 deadline, we highly recommend they accelerate their preparations and act now to begin impact assessments, counterparty analysis and process optimization initiatives. Starting early and leveraging available resources can make a significant difference in the transition to T+1. Also examining current allocation and confirmation processes and investing in automated trade matching solutions that include golden source SSI databases, will better position firms to meet forthcoming deadlines. As always, we stand ready to support the global markets as the financial services industry continues to evolve.”
The UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce implementation plan is available here.