Until now, data on bond trades was scattered across multiple sources, making it difficult to get a clear and complete picture of market activity. The new service brings it all together in one place.

The launch builds on changes to the UK’s bond market transparency rules that came into force in December 2025. Those changes have already made a real difference. The share of corporate bond trades reported in real time rose from under 5% to over 75%, and for government bonds from around 30% to approximately 80%. In some smaller parts of the market, real-time reporting increased more than 50-fold. The consolidated tape is the final step, giving users a single, comprehensive view of all that data.

The UK is the first country outside North America to launch a consolidated tape for bonds.

Simon Walls, executive director of markets at the FCA, said: “Good markets run on good information. Today’s launch of a consolidated tape gives investors a clear, reliable and comprehensive view of UK bond trading for the first time. The UK is a global leader in fixed income issuance and trading, and this is another important delivery in enhancing the competitiveness of the UK as a leading centre of finance.”

The service launches with 98% market coverage of in-scope bond trading. The FCA will supervise ETS Connect UK throughout its five-year contract to ensure data quality and reliability.