UK General

What is a Person with Significant Control in the UK?

When a new company is registered with Companies House, you need to note who should go on the PSC Register. This is a publicly accessible database, listing who the Person with Significant Control is/are. There could be more than one individual, corporate entity or trust – we look at this in further detail below.

For those companies already incorporated, you must ensure Companies House know about your People with Significant Control (PSCs) when you file the Confirmation Statement.

As part of our setup process of new company formation, we compile and submit the PSC data. For existing company’s this data is captured as part of the Confirmation Statement which we submit on our client’s behalf.

A Confirmation Statement is a report containing accurate and up-to-date information about a limited company or LLP on a certain date. This data is submitted to Companies House.

The concept of PSCs was introduced as part of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act (2015) to deliver enhanced transparency on company shareholders.

Who or what could be a Person with Significant Control?

There are four general categories that define a Person with Significant Control:

  • A person, corporate entity or trust holding more than 25% of the issued shares
  • A person, corporate entity or trust holding more than 25% of the voting rights
  • A person, corporate entity or trust that holds the power to remove the majority of the board of directors from the company
  • Or otherwise has the right to exercise significant influence on a company’s decision making.

The final point the right to exercise significant influence is a little more unusual. This could be appropriate, for example of the shares of a company are held in trust on behalf of, another individual or party.

What are the requirements?

These include:

  • Taking reasonable steps to find out whether there are people with significant control (PSCs)
  • Contacting people identified as relevant, or others who may know them, to confirm whether they are a PSC
  • Obtaining or confirming relevant information to put in the PSC Register
  • Putting information obtained into the PSC Register
  • Ensuring the PSC Register is up-to date.

What information will I need to supply?

For each Person with Significant Control in your company you will need to supply the following information.

  • Full name
  • A service address (for correspondence)
  • A residential address (if the PSC is a natural person and the address differs from the service address – this is not a matter of public record)
  • Country where the PSC resides
  • Date of Birth
  • Nationality
  • Date the individual or party became a PSC
  • Nature of control, i.e. one or more of the points mentioned further up
  • Any restrictions on disclosure of information currently in place.

Further information is available from Companies House; PSC requirements for companies and LLP’s