Companies House: Register of People with Significant Control (PSC)

From 6 April 2016, there is a legal requirement for all companies to maintain a register of People with Significant Control (PSC).  A PSC is an individual who meets one or more of the following five conditions:

1. Directly or indirectly holds more than 25% of the shares,
2. Directly or indirectly holds more than 25% of the voting rights,
3. Directly or indirectly holds the right to appoint or remove the majority of directors,
4. Has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control,
5. Has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the activities of a trust or firm which is not a legal entity.

In respect of format, the register can be held electronically or hand written, but it must contain the following information on each individual:

• Name.
• Date of birth.
• Nationality.
• Country, state or part of the UK where the individual usually lives.
• Service address (this is in effect a correspondence address, we suggest using the companies registered office).
• Usual residential address (this must not be disclosed when the register is made available for inspection and will not be disclosed by Companies House).
• The date the individual became a PSC (default date should be 6 April 2016 if individual would have been a PSC before this date).
• Which conditions are being met, i.e. 1) to 5)
  • If conditions 1) or 2) are met then they must disclose which category they fall under; Over 25% up to 50%, more than 50% and less than 75%, 75% or more.
  • The register only needs to state if an individual meets condition 4) if they do not meet one of the conditions 1) to 3).
• Whether an application has been made for an individual’s information to be protected from public disclosure (which can only be made if there is a threat of violence or intimidation).

More information is available here.