Part 3: Supplementary provision
Joint interests
501.Shares or rights in a company may be held jointly. For example, in the case of a partnership, the partners may hold the shares jointly and indivisibly. In the case of shares held in trust, the trustees will hold the shares jointly.
502.In such cases, each person is treated for the purpose of this Schedule as holding the shares or right in their own right (paragraph 11). For example, if A and B have a joint interest in 26% of the shares in company Y, each of them will be a registrable person in respect of Y by virtue of each holding 26% of Y’s shares.
Joint arrangements
503.Shares or rights in a company may also be subject to joint arrangements between persons, where those persons agree to act jointly in respect of the shares or rights in question. Paragraph 12 provides that in such cases, each person is treated for the purpose of this Schedule as holding the combined shares or rights of both of them. For example, if A and B each hold 20% of shares in company Y and have made a joint arrangement, each of them will be a registrable person in respect of Y by virtue of holding 40% of Y’s shares.
504.“Arrangement” is defined in paragraph 21. Paragraph 12(2) provides that a “joint arrangement” is an arrangement between the holders of shares or rights that they will exercise all or substantially all their respective rights together, as pre-determined by the arrangement in question. In such cases, all parties to the arrangement are registrable persons or RLEs.
Calculating shareholdings
505.Paragraph 13 sets out the way shareholdings are to be calculated, including where a legal entity does not have a share capital. All shares issued by the company, as set out in the company’s statement of capital, are to be factored in to the calculation.
Voting rights
506.Paragraph 14 sets out the way voting rights are to be calculated, including in legal entities which do not have, or are not required by law to have, general meetings where matters are decided by the exercise of voting rights.
507.When calculating the percentage of voting rights held for the purpose of this Schedule, any voting rights held by the entity itself in treasury should not be included when calculating the total voting rights in the entity (paragraph 15).
Rights to appoint or remove members of the board
508.Paragraph 16 clarifies that the third condition relates to directors holding a majority of the voting rights on all or substantially all matters.
509.This provision is intended to capture scenarios which would give the holder of the right a level of control over the company broadly equivalent to holding more than 25% of the shares or voting rights. It reflects similar provision elsewhere in CA 2006 (see section 1162(2)(b), in relation to parent and subsidiary undertakings) and in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) (see section 89J(4)(b), in relation to the power of competent authority to call for information). Those provisions equally seek to define what is meant by one party having control over another.
510.If an entity does not have a board of directors, references are to be read as references to the equivalent management body of the entity (paragraph 17).
Shares or rights held “indirectly”
511.Paragraph 18 sets out what is meant by shares or rights held indirectly.
512.A person holds shares in company Y indirectly if they have a majority stake in a legal entity and that entity holds the shares in question (paragraph 18(1)(a)).
513.If that legal entity is part of a chain of legal entities, a person will hold the shares indirectly if each entity in the chain has a majority stake in the entity immediately below it in the chain, and the last entity in the chain holds the shares in question (paragraph 18(1)(b)).
514.A person has a right “indirectly” if they have a majority stake in a legal entity and that entity has the right in question (paragraph 18(2)(a)).
515.If that legal entity is part of a chain of legal entities, a person will exercise the right indirectly if each entity in the chain has a majority stake in the entity immediately below it in the chain, and the last entity in the chain has the right in question (paragraph 18(2)(b)).
516.“Majority stake” is defined in paragraph 18(3) by reference to voting rights, dominant influence or control, and the right to appoint or remove directors. It reflects provision made in section 89J(4) FSMA, which describes how one person may have control over another.
517.The majority stake allows the person to control the legal entity in question. The person can then, by extension, control – for example - the way in which the legal entity votes its shares in company Y. Without a majority stake in the legal entity, the person will not normally have sufficient control to do this in respect of company Y. He or she cannot therefore be said to have significant control over company Y. In a chain of entities, this level of control needs to be reflected at each point in the chain in order that the person can be said to indirectly hold the shares or rights in company Y. Reference to share ownership alone is not included in the definition of “majority stake” as without control of voting rights it would not give a person the requisite amount of control in a chain structure.
518.Paragraph 18(4) provides that for the purpose of this paragraph, a legal entity is treated as having the right to appoint a director if a person is appointed as director of company Y as a result of being appointed director of the legal entity; or if the legal entity is the director of company Y.
Shares held by nominees
519.Paragraph 19 provides that where a share is held by a nominee on behalf of a person, the share is treated as held by that person for the purpose of this Schedule. This means that person – and not the nominee – will be entered in the PSC register where the relevant specified condition is met by the nominee.
Rights treated as held by a person who controls their exercise
520.Similarly to paragraph 19, paragraph 20 provides that where a person controls a right, the right is treated as held by that person for the purpose of this Schedule. This means that the controller of the right – and not the holder, unless they are also a controller - will be entered in the PSC register where the relevant specified condition is met.
521.Paragraph 20(2) sets out when a person has control of a right. This is by reference to an arrangement between a person and others.
522.The definition of “arrangement” in paragraph 21 is broad, but provides that there must be a degree of stability about the arrangement. The intention is to exclude one-off actions or decisions which would not equate to ‘significant control’.
Rights exercisable only in certain circumstances etc.
523.Some rights in a company are only exercisable in certain circumstances. Paragraph 22 provides that for the purpose of determining whether a person has significant control, such rights should only be taken into account when the circumstances have arisen and for as long as they continue to exist; or when the circumstances are within the person’s control.
524.This provision intends to ensure that only ‘live’ interests in the company are entered in the PSC register. It is based on similar provision made in Schedules 6 (‘Meaning of “subsidiary” etc: supplementary provisions’) and 7 (‘Parent and subsidiary undertakings: supplementary provisions’) to CA 2006.
525.The exception to this is in the case of an administration. Paragraph 22(2) specifies that the rights of administrators and creditors during relevant insolvency proceedings should not be taken into account for the purpose of the PSC register. The control exercised in such circumstances is not considered relevant for entry in the PSC register due to the exceptional nature of the circumstances and its limited duration. “Relevant insolvency proceedings” are defined in sub-paragraph (3).
526.Paragraph 22(4) clarifies that rights temporarily incapable of exercise – for example, because they have been suspended – should continue to be taken into account.
Rights attached to shares by way of security
527.Where shares are provided by a person as security, the rights attached to those shares are to be treated in this Schedule as belonging to that person (paragraph 23). This is provided that the rights are only exercisable in accordance with that person’s instructions and in that person’s interests (with the exception of the right to preserve or realise the value of the security).
528.This provision is based on similar provision made in Schedules 6 (‘Meaning of “subsidiary” etc: supplementary provisions’) and 7 (‘Parent and subsidiary undertakings: supplementary provisions’) to CA 2006.
Limited partnerships
529.Where a limited partnership is deemed to hold shares or rights in a company, the limited partners will hold those shares or rights jointly and will meet the specified conditions accordingly (see paragraph 11).
530.Limited partners in limited partnerships registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907 will not however normally be involved in the management of the partnership business (see section 6(1) of that Act). They do not therefore have control over the company in the same way as other holders of shares or rights. Similar considerations apply in relation to particulars in certain overseas arrangements.
531.Paragraph 25 accordingly provides that an individual does not meet the first, second or third specified condition (see above) by virtue only a being a limited partner, unless they are involved in the management of the partnership business (see definition of “limited partner” in sub-paragraph (4)) or a foreign limited partner (see definition of “foreign limited partner” in sub-paragraph (5)).
532.Similarly, sub-paragraph (2) provides that individuals who directly or indirectly hold shares or rights in relation to a limited partner are not considered to meet the first, second or third specified condition by virtue only of that interest.
533.Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) do not apply in relation to identifying whether a firm meets the specified condition in paragraph 6(a).
534.Sub-paragraph (5) defines “foreign limited partner” by reference to regulations made under the power in sub-paragraph (6). This power allows the Secretary of State to prescribe the characteristics of non-UK arrangements in regulations subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.