If you hold shares in a UK-listed company, there’s a good chance you’ve been paying closer attention to the financial news lately. The volume of cross-border takeovers has been rising sharply, with US private equity and strategic buyers accounting for a significant and growing share of UK acquisitions. For ordinary shareholders, these deals often come with an unexpected consequence: your UK shares can become US securities overnight — and that changes everything about how you access or transfer them.
When a UK company is acquired by a US buyer, shareholders who want to sell, transfer, or update their holdings in the new entity will typically encounter a requirement they’ve never come across before: the Medallion Signature Guarantee. This is a specialist certification — only available from a small number of authorised institutions — that verifies the authenticity of a signature on securities transfer documents. It’s a mandatory requirement for most US and Canadian share transfers, and without it, your assets can be effectively frozen.
The Medallion Signature Guarantee isn’t a notary stamp and it isn’t something your high street bank can provide. It requires a certified guarantor who is a member of an approved Medallion programme, with the financial capacity to back the guarantee. The stamp confirms both that the signature is genuine and that the signer has the legal authority to transfer the securities in question.
This is particularly relevant for estate executors, solicitors, and beneficiaries dealing with inherited holdings in US or Canadian companies. Whether you’re managing shares in a long-established US brand or dealing with the aftermath of a takeover, getting the right documentation in place early can save significant time and cost — delays in this area can mean frozen capital at exactly the wrong moment.
Fraser & Fraser, operating as Medallion Signature, are one of the very few UK firms authorised to provide this specialist service. Based in Hatton Garden, London, they offer fast, professional Medallion Signature Guarantee support for individuals, solicitors, and financial advisers. Find out more at https://medallionsignature.co.uk/.
