CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY AND THE PSC REGISTER

Companies House has announced its latest measures intended to achieve the Government’s ultimate goal of total transparency of ownership of UK companies, according to a corporate lawyer. “One of the Government’s stated objectives is to make the UK one of the most transparent places in the world to do business, by providing absolute clarity as to who owns or controls a business,” says Philip Round, a partner at George Green LLP.  “The Companies House business plan for 2017-2018 indicates how Companies House intends to support the Government’s aim.”

Mr Round continues, “it is already obligatory for UK companies to maintain a public register of those individuals or entities who exercise significant control over the company, the so-called PSC register. Rather than updating the Companies House PSC register annually, companies will now be obliged to do so within 14 days of any relevant change, on forms PSC01 to PSC09.  In addition, Companies House intends to introduce measures to ensure that registers are as accurate as possible, such as contacting those with clearly incorrect PSC details and making it easier for those who spot defects in a PSC register to report this to Companies House.”

According to Mr Round, Companies House is also preparing the ground for further legislative changes. “A new register will be introduced in the near future showing the beneficial ownership of overseas entities that own property in the UK or are involved in central Government contracts, and Companies House will start to prepare the requisite mechanism for this.”

Mr Round concludes, “the introduction of the PSC register in 2016 was merely a preliminary step, and further refinements of the framework for transparency are ongoing.  Companies House also intends to consult on any additional changes which may be required to ensure that the regulatory structure strikes the correct balance between corporate transparency and the protection of privacy.”