Q&A on register of people with significant control

The Law Society and City of London Law Society published its joint Q&A document on PSC Registers in November 2019.

UK incorporated companies and LLPs are required to keep a register of "people with significant control" over them (PSCs). The PSC register provides transparency around beneficial ownership of a company.

The Q&A discusses areas of complexity within the regime that are not dealt with in legislation or Government guidance. The Government has not endorsed the Q&A, but has confirmed that it does not disagree with any of the statements in it.

Areas covered by the Q&A include:

• Board appointment rights – One of the criteria for being registrable as a PSC is having the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors of a company. The Q&A confirms that a holder of 50% of the voting rights in a company will automatically qualify as a registrable PSC (on the basis that they could pass an ordinary resolution to remove any director under section 168 Companies Act 2006), unless the company's articles of association restrict that person from exercising their statutory rights.
• Indirect interests – The Q&A discusses whether it is necessary to aggregate interests held by the same person at two different levels in a corporate structure.
• Trusts and trustees – There are various Q&A on the application of the regime to trusts and trustees.