The Personal Equity Plan Regulations 1989

General conditions for plans and subscriptions to plans

4.—(1) A plan is a scheme of investment to which an individual who is a qualifying individual may subscribe and in respect of which (subject to regulation 10) the following conditions must be fulfilled–

(a) a qualifying individual may subscribe to only one plan in any year;

(b) subject to paragraph (2)–

(i) the individual may not subscribe to a plan otherwise than by means of a sum or sums of his cash paid directly to the plan manager; and

(ii) the individual’s cash subscription may not exceed the subscription limit in any year.

(2) Where, in pursuance of a public offer, an application is made by a qualifying individual for the allotment to him of shares of a company which are qualifying investments and such shares are allotted to that individual, he may, subject to the conditions prescribed by paragraph (3), subscribe to a plan by transferring or renouncing his rights to any shares so allotted to the plan manager or a nominee for the plan manager.

(3) The conditions prescribed by this paragraph are–

(a) that the shares are transferred, or the rights to the shares are renounced, within 30 days of their allotment to the individual;

(b) that any sum payable on such an application and the individual’s cash subscription to the plan do not together exceed the subscription limit in any year.

(4) The subscription limit for the purposes of these Regulations is £4,800.

(5) A plan must be managed in accordance with these Regulations by a plan manager and under terms agreed in writing between the plan manager and the plan investor.

(6) Apart from other requirements of these Regulations the terms agreed to which paragraph (5) refers shall include the following conditions–

(a) that the plan investments shall be in the beneficial ownership of the plan investor;

(b) that the title to the plan investments shall be vested in the plan manager or his nominee or jointly in one of them and the plan investor;

(c) that the share certificate or other document evidencing title to a plan investment shall be held by the plan manager or as he may direct;

(d) that the plan manager shall, if the plan investor so elects, arrange for the plan investor to receive a copy of the annual report and accounts issued by every company or other concern in respect of shares or units (as the case may be) which are his plan investments;

(e) that the plan manager shall be under an obligation (subject to any provisions made by or under any other enactment and if the plan investor so elects) to arrange for the plan investor to be able–

(i) to attend shareholders' or unit holders' meetings,

(ii) to vote, and

(iii) to receive, in addition to the documents referred to in paragraph (d) above, any other information issued to shareholders or unit holders;

(f) that at the request of the plan investor and within such time as shall be agreed an entire plan with all rights and obligations of the parties to it may be transferred to another plan manager;

(g) that the plan manager shall notify the plan investor if by reason of any failure to satisfy the provisions of these Regulations a plan has or will become void.