People with Significant Control (PSC) is a business and corporate term used in the United Kingdom to identify key people within a company. The term was introduced on 6 April 2016 as part of the
Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, also referred to as SBEE, received Royal Assent in March 2015. Its contents include regulatory reform (part 2), public sector procurement (part 3) and company director disqualification issue ...
. Schedule 3 to the Act covers the details about maintenance of the PSC register.
Under UK law it is a legal obligation to register the names, date of birth, home and work addresses, manner of control and other details of PSC with the government via
Companies House
Companies House is the executive agency of the British Government that maintains the Company register, register of companies, employs the company registrars and is responsible for Incorporation (business), incorporating all forms of Company, co ...
. Once the PSC's identity has been verified they will then be added to the public list, available on the Companies House website.
On 26 June 2017, the law was amended to remove an exemption for companies listed on markets such as the
Alternative Investment Market
AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market, Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in opera ...
, and to bring Scottish limited partnerships and Scottish general partnerships into scope.
Qualifying as a PSC
In order to qualify as a person with significant control under UK law and government guidelines, someone needs to meet the following criteria:
*You may reside in any nation as long as you can provide official government issues photo ID and proof of address.
*You must own more than 25% of the company shares or...
*You must control more than 25% of the company's voting rights or...
*You must be directly responsible for a significant segment or activity of the company i.e. Chairman of the board, CFO, CEO, COO, Vice President etc. or...
*You must control or contribute to at least 25% of the company's finance or...
*You must have direct control and/persuasion over significant proportions of primary business activities.
A PSC may be a director, board member or registered as a PSC in their own right.
Filing PSC information
New companies file a statement of initial significant control to Companies House alongside the other documents required to incorporate the company. Existing companies deliver this information annually to the public register when making a Confirmation Statement.
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Open Government Licence v3.0
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Companies must enter any changes to PSC information on the company’s own PSC register within 14 days. They must then file the information at Companies House within a further 14 days, where it will be entered on the public register. Companies that have elected to keep their PSC register at Companies House must file the information about any changes with Companies House within 14 days.
Examples
, Esso UK Ltd. is listed as having one person with significant control, its American-registered owner,
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was formed ...
.
Tesco plc is "exempt from keeping a PSC register as it has voting shares admitted to trading on a UK regulated market", reflecting a change in legal requirements effective from 18 June 2018.
[Companies House]
Tesco plc - Persons with Significant Control
accessed 24 January 2023
See also
*
Bribery Act 2010
The Bribery Act 2010 (c. 23) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers the criminal law relating to bribery. Introduced to Parliament in the Queen's Speech in 2009 after several decades of reports and draft bills, the act re ...
(United Kingdom)
*
Director (business)
The term director is a title given to the senior management staff of businesses and other large organizations.
The term is in common use with two distinct meanings, the choice of which is influenced by the size and global reach of the organizati ...
*
Politically exposed person (PEP)
*
Real party in interest
In law, the real party in interest is the party who possesses the substantive right being asserted and has a legal right to enforce the claim (under applicable substantive law). The "real party in interest" must also sue in his own name. In many ...
*
Ultimate beneficial owner
In domestic and international commercial law, a beneficial owner is a natural person or persons who ultimately owns or controls an interest in a legal entity or arrangement, such as a company, a trust, or a foundation. Legal owners (i.e. the own ...
(UBO)
References
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United Kingdom company law