Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015

No more annual returns, simplified statements of capital… Looks at what’s new in the world of company law for June 2016.   
The latest provisions from the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 are due to come into effect on 30 June 2016. 

The Act is designed to improve transparency around company ownership and to tackle directors involved in misconduct. At the same time, the Government has taken the opportunity to introduce a number of company filing reforms. This simplifies the current filing requirements and should improve the accuracy and integrity of information held on the public register at Companies House.

The provisions in the Act are coming into effect in stages. Agata Rumbelow, our company commercial expert looks at the latest stage of the Act:

No More Annual Returns

Companies will no longer be required to file an Annual Return (AR01); instead they must file a Confirmation Statement once a year confirming to the Registrar of Companies that the information held at Companies House is still current. Annual Returns will not be accepted for filing after the end of the month.

The Confirmation Statement fee is the same as that currently for the Annual Return (£40 for paper and £13 for electronic filing).

Of course, information that changes in the course of the year (e.g. directors resigning or new directors being appointed) must still be notified to Companies House as they occur, as previously. 

Statement of Capital Simplified

This is to make it clearer how much (if anything) shareholders owe the Company on unpaid shares, so that anyone using the Register to check a company’s financial health can access the information more readily. 

Company Registers

Private companies (i.e. not PLC’s) now have the option of just recording information about directors and shareholders at Companies House without a requirement to keep separate registers at their Registered Office. 

Register of People with Significant Control

From the end of the month, the information that companies are now required to keep on those who hold or control (directly or indirectly) more than 25% of the shares or voting rights in a company, will also have to be provided to Companies House once a year with the Confirmation Statement.

Find out more

If you require any further information on different types of business structure or any company and commercial law matter, contact our Company and Commercial team on 01277 246833. 
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. Specific legal advice should be taken on each individual matter. This article is based on the law as at June 2016.