Important company law change that will affect your business

In April, The Government introduced legislation that will impact every business in the UK. This is by far the most significant change in company law in many years, there are two key dates that you need to be aware of:

6th April 2016: From this date all UK Companies and LLPs must maintain a register of People will Significant Control (PSC) which, along with other statutory registers, must be available to public inspection upon request.

30th June 2016: From this date, PSC information must also be submitted for all new company incorporations and will be publicly available at Companies House. Also the Annual Return will cease to exist and will be replaced by a Confirmation Statement that will provide details of PSCs to the public register at Companies House. The date that you need to submit a Confirmation Statement will be the same as the date that you need to submit your Annual Return.

Who would be a PSC?

• An individual who holds more than 25% of the shares in the company
• An individual who holds more than 25% of the voting rights in the company
• An individual who holds the right to appoint or remove the majority of the board of directors of the company

There are a couple more conditions, although these only apply in limited circumstances:

• An individual who has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the company.
• Where a trust or firm would satisfy one of the first four conditions if it were an individual. Any individual holding the right to exercise, or actually exercising, significant influence or control over the activities of that trust or firm

What information do you need to submit?

For each person with significant control, you will need to submit:

• Full name
• Residential address (not to be made available for public inspection if a service address is used)
• Service address (if used for public record address)
• Date of Birth
• Nationality
• Country of residence
• Reason for being a PSC
• Date became a PSC

Thinking of setting up a new company?

You will need to keep a register of People will Significant Control (PSC) from the outset and will need to provide this information to us before we can setup the business.

Wow’s advice

Even though you won’t need to file anything at Companies House until your Annual Return – or “Confirmation Statement” as it will become – is due after 30th June, it’s important to take action now by compiling your PSC information, ready for you to submit to Companies House at the appropriate time.

To find out when your Annual Return needs to be submitted, click here and enter your company name.

If you have any questions about these changes, please get in touch – we’re here to help.