Section 418: Carrying on regulated activities in the United Kingdom
738.This section deals with the territorial scope of the authorisation requirement, and establishes its so-called “outward”application, whereby persons based in the United Kingdom who carry on regulated activities overseas need to be regulated in the United Kingdom. The section reflects the provisions of the EC directives in determining when a person is to be considered to be carrying on regulated activities in the United Kingdom, and sets out four broad cases:
first, all persons who have their head or registered office in the United Kingdom, but who only carry on regulated activities in another EEA State, but are entitled to exercise rights under a single market directive as UK firms, and are carrying on in another EEA state regulated activities to which that directive applies, will need to be authorised in the United Kingdom;
second, all persons who have their registered offices (or head offices, where they do not have registered offices) in the United Kingdom, and operate as managers of schemes which are entitled to enjoy the rights conferred by a relevant Community Instrument will require authorisation where persons in another EEA state are invited to become participants in the schemes;
third, all persons who have their head or registered office in the United Kingdom, but who only carry on regulated activities in non-EEA states, will need to be authorised if they direct the day-to-day management of the activities from an establishment in the United Kingdom; or
fourth, even if a person does not have a head or registered office in the United Kingdom and is not dealing with UK customers, he will still need to be authorised if the activity is carried on from an establishment maintained by him in the United Kingdom.
739.These provisions complement the so-called “inward” territorial scope of the Act, whereby overseas persons who carry on regulated activities in the United Kingdom need to be regulated unless an exemption or exclusion applies. The “inward” scope of the Act is implicit in the terms of section 19, but it may also be further amplified or restricted by the order to be made under section 22.
