Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

769 Rules for ascertaining change in ownership of company

(1) For the purposes of section 768 there is a change in the ownership of a company—

(a) if a single person acquires more than half the ordinary share capital of the company; or

(b) if two or more persons each acquire a holding of 5 per cent. or more of the ordinary share capital of the company, and those holdings together amount to more than half the ordinary share capital of the company; or

(c) if two or more persons each acquire a holding of the ordinary share capital of the company, and the holdings together amount to more than half the ordinary share capital of the company, but disregarding a holding of less that 5 per cent. unless it is an addition to an existing holding and the two holdings together amount to 5 per cent. or more of the ordinary share capital of the company.

(2) In applying subsection (1) above—

(a) the circumstances at any two points of time with not more than three years between may be compared, and a holder at the later time may be regarded as having acquired whatever he did not hold at the earlier time, irrespective of what he has acquired or disposed of in between;

(b) to allow for any issue of shares or other reorganisation of capital, the comparison may be made in terms of percentage holdings of the total ordinary share capital at the respective times, so that a person whose percentage holding is greater at the later time may be regarded as having acquired a percentage holding equal to the increase;

(c) to decide for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) or (c) above if any person has acquired a holding of at least 5 per cent., or a holding which makes at least 5 per cent. when added to an existing holding, acquisitions by, and holdings of, two or more persons who are connected persons within the meaning of section 839 shall be aggregated as if they were acquisitions by, and holdings of, one and the same person;

(d) any acquisition of shares under the will or on the intestacy of a deceased person and, if it is shown that the gift is unsolicited and made without regard to the provisions of section 768, any gift of shares, shall be left out of account.

(3) Where, because persons, whether company members or not, possess extraordinary rights or powers under the articles of association or under any other document regulating the company, ownership of the ordinary share capital may not be an appropriate test of whether there has been a major change in the persons for whose benefit the losses may ultimately enure, then, in considering whether there has been a change in the ownership of the company for the purposes of section 768, holdings of all kinds of share capital, including preference shares, or of any particular category of share capital, or voting power or any other special kind of power, may be taken into account instead of ordinary share capital.

(4) Where section 768 has operated to restrict relief by reference to a change of ownership taking place at any time, no transaction or circumstances before that time shall be taken into account in determining whether there is any subsequent change of ownership.

(5) A change in the ownership of a company shall be disregarded for the purposes of section 768 if—

(a) immediately before the change the company is the 75 per cent. subsidiary of another company, and

(b) (although there is a change in the direct ownership of the company) that other company continues after the change to own the first-mentioned company as a 75 per cent. subsidiary.

(6) If there is a change in the ownership of a company which has a 75 per cent. subsidiary (whether owned directly or indirectly) then, unless under subsection (5) above that change in ownership is to be disregarded, section 768 shall apply as if there had also been a change in the ownership of that 75 per cent. subsidiary.

(7) For the purposes of this section—

(a) references to ownership shall be construed as references to beneficial ownership, and references to acquisition shall be construed accordingly;

(b) a company shall be deemed to be a 75 per cent. subsidiary of another company if and so long as not less than three-quarters of its ordinary share capital is owned by that other company, whether directly or through another company or other companies, or partly directly and partly through another company or other companies;

(c) the amount of ordinary share capital of one company owned by a second company through another company or other companies or partly directly and partly through another company or other companies, shall be determined in accordance with subsections (5) to (10) of section 838; and

(d) “shares” includes stock.

(8) If any acquisition of ordinary share capital or other property or rights taken into account in determining that there has been a change of ownership of a company was made in pursuance of a contract of sale or option or other contract, or the acquisition was made by a person holding such a contract, then the time when the change in the ownership of the company took place shall be determined as if the acquisition had been made when the contract was made with the holder or when the benefit of it was assigned to him so that, in the case of a person exercising an option to purchase shares, he shall be regarded as having purchased the shares when he acquired the option.