British Steel Act 1988

Vesting of property etc. of British Steel Corporation in a successor company

1 Vesting of property etc. of British Steel Corporation in a successor company

(1) On such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint all the property, rights and liabilities to which the British Steel Corporation was entitled or subject immediately before that day shall (subject to section 2(3)) become by virtue of this section property, rights and liabilities of a company nominated for the purposes of this section by the Secretary of State; and references in this Act to the appointed day or to the successor company are references to the day so appointed or to the company so nominated respectively.

(2) The Secretary of State may, after consulting the Corporation, by order nominate for the purposes of this section any company formed and registered under the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985; but on the appointed day the company in question must be a company limited by shares which is wholly owned by the Crown.

(3) References in this Act to property, rights and liabilities of the Corporation are references to all such property, rights and liabilities, whether or not capable of being transferred or assigned by the Corporation.

(4) It is hereby declared for the avoidance of doubt that—

(a) any reference in this Act to property of the Corporation is a reference to property of the Corporation whether situated in the United Kingdom or elsewhere; and

(b) any reference in this Act to rights or liabilities of the Corporation is a reference to rights to which the Corporation is entitled, or (as the case may be) liabilities to which the Corporation is subject, whether under the law of the United Kingdom or of any part of the United Kingdom or under the law of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom.

(5) An order under this section appointing a day under subsection (1) or nominating any company for the purposes of this section may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order at any time before any property, rights or liabilities of the Corporation vest in any company by virtue of this section.

(6) Schedule 1 shall have effect for the purpose of supplementing the provisions of this section.

2 Reduction and subsequent extinguishment of Corporation’s public dividend capital

(1) If the Secretary of State so directs at any time before the appointed day, the public dividend capital of the Corporation shall be reduced by such amount as is specified in the direction; and on the giving of any such direction any liability of the Corporation to the Secretary of State in respect of the Corporation’s public dividend capital shall (subject to subsection (4)) be correspondingly reduced.

(2) References in this Act to the public dividend capital of the Corporation are references to the capital amount for the time being outstanding in respect of payments made to the Corporation under section 18(1) of the [1982 c. 25.] Iron and Steel Act 1982 (public investment in the Corporation other than Government loans), including the payment treated as having been so made by virtue of section 18(3) of that Act but as reduced by virtue of section 18(7) of that Act.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), there shall be extinguished immediately before the appointed day any liability of the Corporation to the Secretary of State in respect of the Corporation’s public dividend capital (as reduced, where a direction has been given under subsection (1), by virtue of that subsection).

(4) A direction under subsection (1) shall not operate to extinguish any liability of the Corporation under section 18(5) and (6) of the 1982 Act (whether accrued or otherwise) to make a payment in respect of a financial year of the Corporation ending before the date on which the direction is given; and subsection (3) shall not operate to extinguish any such liability of the Corporation to make a payment in respect of a financial year ending before the appointed day.