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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

Briefings

UK nationalisation: The law and the cost - 2019 update

5 July 2019

Nationalisation is on the agenda in the UK. The Labour Party says that, if it wins the next general election, it will nationalise the railways, water and energy companies, the National Grid, the Royal Mail and possibly private finance initiative (PFI) companies – and that it will pay shareholders less than the market value of their investments.

This paper considers how, as a legal matter, nationalisation would work, and the legal constraints that in practice limit a government’s ability to nationalise for less than full market value.

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