No more Royal Mails if EU gets its way A revival of public interest in share ownership, where private investors participate in economic growth and companies benefit from what is, on the whole, a stable form of capital provision, is an all-round good. Companies are certainly interested. Merlin, for instance, will offer discounts to its attractions as a perk to small shareholders. The move is in parallel with the growing issuance by companies of "retail bonds" - again, a form of capital-raising where firms go direct to private investors. Many such issues have worked well for both parties. So is this the new era of the small shareholder? Not quite, say those who have seen decades of evolution in the market. Paul Killik, now 70, has been a broker since the Seventies and today chairs the London firm that bears his name. He recalls selling BT shares from a table in a Debenhams department store when the telecoms giant was privatised in 1984. He welcomed the "Royal Mail effect" but fears meddling by our own regulators and those in Europe poses a threat to the small shareholder. "Regulation makes it difficult to bring companies to market for private investors," he said. Brussels has determined a different style of documentation, a more detailed prospectus. And the UK Listing Authority goes further with its requirements. And so understandably companies balk at this, which they see as putting barriers up. Mr Killik said: "In the Eighties there was a wonderful period of build-up as we went through a succession of privatisations, with the public slowly understanding more and developing a tremendous enthusiasm. Today there are powers in Brussels who believe private investors shouldn't be allowed to own shares directly. The Telegraph's private investor columnist, James Bartholomew, describes a recent experience of EU investor interference along these lines here. Nannying and Statism do not serve the interests of private investors - they simply remove choice and opportunity.