A managed authorisation project that prepares your business for FCA approval and supervisory engagement.

The situation

Obtaining FCA authorisation is more than completing an application. Whether you are establishing an Electronic Money Institution, Payment Institution, Consumer Credit firm, Investment Firm, WealthTech, Digital Asset business or another regulated financial services firm, the FCA is assessing whether your business has the governance, financial resources, systems and controls needed to operate safely from its first day. For most founders, authorisation is the first significant regulatory project the business undertakes. The application requires much more than regulatory documentation. The FCA expects the business model, governance arrangements, financial projections, systems and controls, senior management responsibilities and operational framework to present a coherent picture of how the business will operate once authorised. Many firms approach authorisation as a documentation exercise. In practice, it is an institution-building exercise. Decisions made during the application often determine how efficiently the business scales, how investors assess governance and how confidently the firm responds to its first supervisory engagement.

What you are really buying

A managed authorisation project. We support the business from the initial assessment of regulatory permissions through preparation of the application, regulatory business plan, governance framework, financial projections and supporting documentation to FCA determination. Alongside the application, we help establish the governance, compliance and control environment needed to operate as an authorised firm, ensuring that the business is prepared not only for approval but for supervision afterwards. The outcome is an authorised business with a regulatory framework capable of supporting growth rather than one that requires significant rebuilding immediately after approval.

What's included

The engagement includes:

• Assessment of the regulatory permissions required.

• FCA authorisation strategy.

• Regulatory Business Plan.

• Financial projections and capital assessment.

• Governance framework.

• Senior Managers & Certification Regime implementation.

• Compliance framework.

• Risk management framework.

• Financial crime framework.

• Consumer Duty implementation.

• Operational resilience framework.

• Outsourcing governance.

• Policies and procedures.

• Board governance documentation.

• Regulatory reporting framework.

• FCA application preparation and submission.

• Management of FCA queries throughout determination.

• Support during implementation following authorisation.

How it works

1. 1

   Assess

   We begin by understanding the proposed business model, regulated activities, ownership structure and commercial objectives. From that assessment we determine the permissions required, identify regulatory dependencies and establish the work needed before the application is submitted.

   You keep: A clear authorisation strategy and project plan.

2. 2

   Build

   We prepare the regulatory business plan together with the governance framework, financial projections, compliance arrangements, policies and supporting documentation required by the FCA. Every document is prepared specifically for the proposed business and designed to reflect how the firm will operate in practice. The governance, operational model and regulatory framework are developed together so that the application presents one consistent picture of the business.

   You keep: A complete regulatory operating model together with a fully prepared FCA application.

3. 3

   Submit and manage

   Once the application is submitted, we remain involved throughout the FCA assessment process. We coordinate responses to regulatory questions, prepare additional supporting material where required and support management during discussions with the FCA until a determination is reached.

   You keep: Experienced support from submission through to determination.

4. 4

   Launch as an authorised firm

   Authorisation is not the end of the project. Following approval we help implement the governance arrangements, compliance framework and operational controls needed for the business to operate confidently under FCA supervision. Where required, ongoing support can include retained compliance, SMF16, MLRO or governance advisory services as the business continues to grow.

   You keep: A regulated business prepared for supervision from its first day of operation.

The guarantee

Proof

Experience as a former FCA supervisor with expertise across authorisations, governance, regulatory operating models and supervisory engagement across multiple sectors of financial services.