A company is excluded from being eligible if it is an investment bank or an investment firm.

In this paragraph—

• “investment bank” means a company that has permission under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to carry on the regulated activity of—

  1. a

     safeguarding and administering investments,

  2. b

     managing an AIF or a UCITS,

  3. c

     acting as trustee or depositary of an AIF or a UCITS,

  4. d

     dealing in investments as principal, or

  5. e

     dealing in investments as agent,

  but does not include a company that has permission to arrange for one or more others to carry on the activity mentioned in paragraph (a) if it does not otherwise have permission to carry on any of the activities mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (e);

• “investment firm” has the same meaning as in the Banking Act 2009 (see section 258A of that Act), disregarding any order made under section 258A(2)(b) of that Act;

• “regulated activity” has the meaning given by section 22 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, taken with Schedule 2 to that Act and any order under that section.