The public can no longer access beneficial ownership information

One of the biggest talking points at the time the Beneficial Ownership Register was put in place was the fact that the public could access it. This meant the public could see the names of the beneficial owners, what percentage shareholding they might hold and even their dates of birth and home addresses!

All that has now changed further to an unexpected European Court Judgment last week. Its ruling means that from now on only 'Designated Persons' can search the Register and obtain beneficial ownership details.

From a practical point of view, the ruling will not affect the vast majority of companies. They are still obliged to ensure both their internal and external Beneficial Ownership Registers are completed in full and kept up to date. The banks as a 'Designated Person' will continue to be able to search the Register and (in our experience) refuse to/delay providing credit facilities to companies if they have queries over the information lodged.

In summary, even if Joe Public can no longer have a peep, there is still no excuse not to register your Beneficial Ownership information and keep it updated!

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No new banking facility without proof of beneficial ownership registration

We recently incorporated a new company that found itself unable to open a new banking facility until it had provided proof that it had filed on the Registry of Beneficial Ownership. This was despite the fact that it had another 5 months to file beneficial ownership details (all newly incorporated companies have 5 months from incorporation to file). Increasingly, financial institutions are making beneficial ownership part of their due diligence process so companies shouldn’t neglect to file or neglect to keep their beneficial ownership details up to date. You have been warned!

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