On the 17th August 2016, the Listing Authority issued amendments to the Listing Rules with a view to bringing the rules in line with the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The Listing Rules prescribed that Restricted Persons were prohibited from dealing in an issuer's securities two months prior to the publication of annual / half yearly results (or one month in the case of quarterly results). 

In order to ensure the consistency of the Listing Rules with the MAR, the Listing Authority has reduced the said period from two months to thirty days. The MAR specifies that the thirty days are calendar days. 

Restricted Persons
The said prohibition will continue to apply to directors of the issuer and of its subsidiary or parent undertakings as well as the officers/employees of the issuer of its subsidiary or parent undertakings that are likely to be in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information in relation to the Issuer. 

Exceptions
The exceptions to the trading prohibition have been amended to the effect that trading can take place during the restricted period:
(a) on a case-by-case basis due to the existence of exceptional circumstances, such as severe financial difficulty, which require the immediate sale of shares; or 
(b) due to the characteristics of the trading involved for transactions made under, or related to, an employee share or saving scheme, qualification or entitlement of shares, or transactions where the beneficial interest in the relevant security does not change. 
Interestingly, Listing Rule 5.111 has removed the requirement for the prior written approval of the Listing Rules to be obtained. This change has not however been consistently reflected throughout the remaining relevant Listing Rules, creating some doubt as to whether the Listing Authority's approval is in fact required. 

Effective Date
The effective date of the changes to the Listing Rules was the 11th August 2016.

A copy of the amendments as well as the Listing Authority's circular can be found here.