New legislation came into force on 26 June 2017 which has brought with it significant changes to the way Companies must update and report the contents of their Persons of Significant Control, or PSC registers. The new rules are far more onerous than those previously laid out following the introduction of the PSC register in April 2016.
The new rules
These changes introduce a much more rigorous approach to keeping, maintaining and reporting PSC registers.
The new requirement is to file PSC information at Companies House in ‘real time’, and will have a significant impact on the confidentiality of corporate mergers and acquistitions where the buyer(s) would fall within the scope of the PSC regime. For example, under these new rules, certain transactions will now become public knowledge within 28 days of completion.
The details
- A company must notify anyone included in the company’s PSC register within 14 days of the company learning of the change.
- A PSC register must be updated within 14 days of any change being made to details held in the register.
- The company must file the information at Companies House within a further 14 days using a series of new forms.
- The requirement to file PSC information within a company’s confirmation statement has been removed. Instead the company must confirm that it has complied with the new PSC filing requirements in the same way that it confirms that it has filed all changes to directors.
The new PSC regime has been extended to ensure that unregistered companies are now also obliged to follow its requirements.
Also of significant importance is the new power for the Registrar of Companies to disclose secured PSC information to credit institutions and financial institutions, subject to certain conditions being satisfied.
If you would like more information on the PSC register, please contact Peter Flowerday on 0115 9 100 200 or send him an email.
This is not legal advice. Information made available on this website in any form is for information purposes only. It is not, and should not be taken as legal advice. You should not rely on, take or fail to take any action based upon this information. Never disregard professional legal advice or delay in seeking legal advice because of something you have read on this website.
Posted on July 19, 2017
