The UK Government announces the date of the coming into operation of the National Security and Investment Act, one of the most wide-ranging regimes for review of investments on national security grounds in the world

On 20 July 2021, the UK Government announced that the National Security and Investment Act 2021, which was passed on 29 April 2021, will come into force on 4 January 2022. This new regime for review of investments on national security grounds will be among the most wide-ranging in the world. It represents the most significant change in the UK regulatory environment since the Government ceded the power to approve or prohibit mergers on competition grounds to an independent agency in 2002. The principal features of the new regime are as follows. Transactions in 17 defined sectors will require notification to, and pre-closing approval from, a new Investment Security Unit (ISU). The definitions of these sectors remain broad, though they have been revised in the draft regulations also