Liz Kinsey, Managing Director of CRO Corporate Services, gave a talk to 100 members of the island’s business community this week, covering UK compliance changes affecting Manx companies.
The event covered the UK Companies House register clean-up under ECCTA (Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023), identity verification, new transparency requirements for the Register of Overseas Entities, and what Authorised Corporate Service Providers must now do when filing.
Speaking after the event, Liz said: “ECCTA gives Companies House the power to play a more significant role in tackling economic crime and supporting economic growth.
“Over time, these measures will lead to improved transparency and more accurate and trusted information on registers, which in turn will help to drive confidence in the UK economy, and increase the value of the register for businesses across the UK, Crown Dependencies and beyond.”
She went on to caution: “But this also means that there are additional requirements, especially in regard to the Register of Overseas Entities, that Isle of Man must adhere to in order to ensure compliance.”
Rules and Regulations
Register of Overseas Entities rules mean that beneficial owners of overseas entities owning property or land in the UK, must register at Companies House UK if they meet one or more of the following conditions known as the ‘nature of control’. The beneficial owner is an individual person, other legal entity, government or public authority and:
- Holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the shares in the entity
- Holds, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the voting rights in the entity
- Holds the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors of the entity
- Has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the entity