New businesses
14.—(1) A new business is a business which a person, or a number of persons, (“P”) begins to carry on during the period of 12 months ending with the date of complaint.
(2) But a business is not a new business if—
(a)P has, at any time during the period of 6 months ending immediately before the date on which P begins to carry on the business, carried on another business consisting of the activities of which the business consists (or most of them); or
(b)P carries on the business as a result of a transfer (within the meaning of sub-paragraph (4)).
(3) Sub-paragraph (2)(a) does not apply if the other business referred to in that paragraph was a new business (within the meaning of this Schedule).
(4) P carries on a business as a result of a transfer if P begins to carry on the business on another person ceasing to carry on the activities of which it consists (or most of them) in consequence of arrangements involving P and the other person.
(5) For this purpose, P is to be taken to begin to carry on a business on another person ceasing to carry on such activities if—
(a)the business begins to be carried on by P otherwise than in partnership on such activities ceasing to be carried on by persons in partnership; or
(b)P is a number of persons in partnership who begin to carry on the business on such activities ceasing to be carried on—
(i)by a person, or a number of persons, otherwise than in partnership;
(ii)by persons in partnership who do not consist only of all the persons who constitute P; or
(iii)partly as mentioned in paragraph (i) and partly as mentioned in paragraph (ii).
(6) Sub-paragraph (2)(b) does not apply if the activities referred to in sub-paragraph (4) were, when carried on by the person who is not P referred to in that paragraph, activities of a new business (within the meaning of this Schedule).
(7) P is not to be regarded as beginning to carry on a business for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) if—
(a)before P begins to carry on the business, P is a party to arrangements under which P may (at any time during the period of 5 years beginning with the commencement date) carry on, as part of the business, activities carried on by any other person; and
(b)the business would have been prevented by sub-paragraph (2)(b) from being a new business if—
(i)P had begun to carry on the activities when beginning to carry on the business; and
(ii)the other person had at that time ceased to carry them on.
(8) “Arrangements” includes an agreement, understanding, scheme, transaction or series of transactions (whether or not legally enforceable).