Can I buy an EMI licence directly?

Not directly — a regulatory licence is granted to a specific legal entity and its controllers, and it isn't a transferable asset on its own. What's actually bought and sold is the licensed entity itself, typically via a share purchase, which then requires regulatory change-of-control approval before completion.

What is a change-of-control approval?

When a licensed entity changes ownership or controllers, most regulators (including the FCA and equivalents in the EU and Switzerland) require prior approval of the new controllers before the change can take effect. This typically involves fit-and-proper assessments, source-of-funds checks and a review of the buyer's business plan for the entity going forward.

Is it faster to buy a licensed shelf entity than to apply fresh?

Often yes in terms of headline timeline, but the change-of-control review can itself take several months, and the acquired entity's existing liabilities, contracts and compliance history become yours. We help weigh this honestly against a fresh application before you commit.

M&A · Licensing

EMI & PSP Licence Brokering

Some founders and institutions would rather acquire, partner with, or invest into an already-licensed EMI, PSP or Swiss SRO-affiliated entity than run a licence application from zero. We broker those introductions and help structure the deal properly — including the regulatory change-of-control step that a lot of "licence for sale" listings quietly skip over.

What's included

Confidential introductions between parties looking to buy, sell, or take a strategic stake in a licensed entity
Due diligence support — reviewing the target's compliance history, licence conditions and existing liabilities before you commit
Structuring guidance for the transaction, including how it will need to be presented to the regulator
Change-of-control application support once a deal is agreed
Distributor / agent-model alternatives, where partnering with an existing licence holder may suit you better than acquisition

Who this is for

Founders who want to launch faster than a fresh licence application allows
Licensed entities looking to sell, merge, or bring in a strategic investor
Groups evaluating an agent or distributor arrangement under an existing licence, rather than acquiring one outright

Set the record straight: a licence isn't a product you buy off a shelf

You'll see "EMI licence for sale" listings online. What's actually being sold is the legal entity that holds the licence — its shares, its balance sheet, its compliance history and its obligations. Regulators including the FCA, the Bank of Lithuania and CySEC require prior approval of any change of controllers before a transaction like this can complete, through a fit-and-proper and source-of-funds review of the incoming owner. That review takes real time, and it can be declined. Anyone offering you an instant, no-questions-asked licence transfer is skipping a step the regulator won't skip. We broker deals the way regulators actually expect them to be run.

Our process

Understand the goal. Buying, selling, partnering, or investing — each has a different structure and timeline.
Introduce. A shortlist of counterparties from our network, under NDA where appropriate.
Diligence. Honest review of the target entity's compliance history, conditions and liabilities, or of the buyer's fit-and-proper position.
Structure & file. Support through deal structuring and the regulatory change-of-control application.