Measuring the ownership and control of UK listed firms: Some methodological challenges

Abstract

While scholars in business, management, accounting and finance frequently use data on the ownership and control structure of companies in their research, we show that determining this structure for a UK public limited company using publicly available information can be fraught with a number of difficulties. The latest changes to the UK Listing rules following the Hill Review (2021) may further exacerbate these difficulties via the potential increase in listed companies with dual-class shares. With the help of case studies and further empirical work, we demonstrate some of the methodological challenges faced by researchers. We provide guidance on how to tackle these challenges.