The Blog - Archive
June 2009
Following on from my brief introduction to the company law changes from 1st October 2009 below, an interesting anomaly has arisen that could potentially affect anyone dealing with large company groups.
At a time when all businesses are looking at the financial viability of all customers and suppliers, it is usual to carry out credit checks and other information on a company before you begin trading, particularly if you are reliant on any single supplier or customer for your core business. You will most likely carry out a credit check on the company name, and may obtain some details from Companies House.
After 1st October 2009, several companies in the same group are permitted to have the same company name (so long as the other company consents) and accordingly it will be crucial to know which of the companies you are dealing with. Is it the one with all the assets and the excellent credit rating, or the start-up shell company with nothing to its name?
Our advice is to always check the company number, which will be different for each company. If you rely on the company number, you will also avoid the risk of a company changing its name, only for another to take the name immediately afterwards, as again the company numbers will be different.
18/06/09 Companies Act changes
On 1st October 2009 Company Law in England and Wales undergoes the most radical overhaul for a generation when the bulk of the Companies Act 2006 is brought into force. The rest of the Act has already been implemented in stages from 2006 on various dates. The Government have provided a basic guide to those changes that affect all private companies in a useful leaflet which can be found at http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file42262.pdf
We will go through the changes in legislation in detail nearer the date of implementation.
On 1st July 2009 there will be changes to various Companies House forms. The existing 288a, 288b and 288c forms for the appointment, termination and change of details for company directors and secretaries will be replaced with 10 different forms numbered AP01-AP04, TM01-TM02 and CH01-CH04. The new forms will be on the Companies House website from 1st July 2009.
18/06/09 Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) "Holiday" Extended
The current SDLT "holiday" for residential purchases has been extended to the 31st December 2009. The SDLT exempt threshold has increased from £125,000 to £175,000. We will keep you updated if any further changes come to light.
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