Knowledge base · GB

United Kingdom

A common-law jurisdiction whose companies, LLPs and limited partnerships are registered at Companies House, with a free public register of people with significant control, identity checks for directors since November 2025 and a separate register for overseas entities that own UK land.

The United Kingdom’s three main business forms — the private company limited by shares, the limited liability partnership and the limited partnership — are all registered at Companies House, whose register is public and free to search. Groups use UK companies as operating, holding and finance companies, helped by the treaty network and the absence of withholding tax on dividends; limited partnerships are a standard vehicle for private funds. The UK has no statutory foundation. English-law trusts are widely used for family holdings and are registered with HMRC where the Trust Registration Service rules reach them.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 is changing the register in stages. A registered email address and a lawful-purpose statement have been required since March 2024. Identity verification for directors, LLP members and people with significant control began on 18 November 2025, when companies also stopped keeping their own statutory registers. Filing through Authorised Corporate Service Providers has been postponed to no earlier than November 2027. From April 2028 all accounts must be filed in iXBRL through commercial software; on 23 October 2026 the government paused the plan to make small and micro companies file a profit and loss account. The reform of limited partnerships and the limits on corporate directors have not yet commenced.

An overseas entity that owns or buys land in the UK registers its beneficial owners on the Register of Overseas Entities and confirms them every year. Since June 2026 the Trust Registration Service also reaches non-UK express trusts that hold UK land bought before October 2020, which have until 1 September 2027 to register, while smaller trusts that meet a de minimis test may deregister.

General information, not advice. Facts are stated as of the date on each page. Law, lists and rates change; the professional who acts for the entity confirms what applies to it. Chrysos performs no regulated act and gives no legal or tax advice.

Facts as of 30 October 2026

Beneficial ownership

Who is a beneficial owner: A person with significant control (PSC) — an individual who holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, can appoint or remove a majority of the board, or has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control, including through a trust or firm that meets these tests. A legal entity in the chain is recorded instead where it is itself subject to disclosure. The rules cover companies, LLPs, Scottish limited partnerships and certain Scottish partnerships.
Register: Held centrally at Companies House. Since 18 November 2025 companies no longer keep their own registers of directors, secretaries or PSCs, though historic registers must be kept.
Deadlines: PSC changes are filed with Companies House within 14 days; a confirmation statement at least every 12 months.
Who can see it: Public and free of charge on the Companies House register. Residential addresses and full dates of birth are suppressed — only month and year are shown — and people at risk can apply for protection.
Identity verification: Since 18 November 2025 new directors, LLP members and PSCs verify their identity with Companies House through GOV.UK One Login, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Existing directors verify with the company's next confirmation statement in a twelve-month transition ending in November 2026. At the end of June 2026 about 55% of directors and 42% of PSCs had verified.
Trusts: HMRC's Trust Registration Service covers UK express trusts and certain non-UK trusts — those with UK tax liability, those that acquired UK land on or after 6 October 2020, and those with a UK-resident trustee and a business relationship with a UK obliged entity. Non-UK express trusts holding UK land acquired before 6 October 2020 must register by 1 September 2027. The register is not public.
Nominees: Nominee shareholdings are lawful. For the PSC rules, shares held by a nominee count as held by the person for whom the nominee acts, so that individual is the PSC. Nominee directors are statutory directors with full duties and verify their identity like any other.
Penalties: Failing to comply with the PSC rules is a criminal offence for the company and its officers in default, and a PSC who does not answer a notice can have their interest restricted. An overseas entity that does not file on the Register of Overseas Entities commits an offence and cannot deal in its UK land.

Lists and exchange of information

EU tax list: Not listed (revision of 9 October 2026). Not on the EU list of high-risk third countries for money laundering.
FATF: A FATF member, not on the grey or black list (June 2026 plenary). Holds the FATF Presidency from July 2026. Last mutual evaluation December 2018; the fifth-round evaluation began in October 2026, with adoption expected at a 2028 plenary.
Exchange of information: Common Reporting Standard since 2017; a Model 1 FATCA agreement with the United States.
Pillar Two: The multinational and domestic top-up taxes apply for periods beginning on or after 31 December 2023, and the undertaxed profits rule from 31 December 2024, to groups with revenue of €750 million or more.

4 forms

Legal entities

Company · Ltd

Private company limited by shares

Law: Companies Act 2006, as amended by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023

The standard UK company. A separate legal person whose shareholders are liable only for unpaid share capital.

Members and officers: At least one shareholder and one director, and at least one director must be a natural person; corporate directors are allowed alongside. No residence requirement; a company secretary is optional. A registered office at an appropriate address in the UK and a registered email address, which is not public.
Share capital: No minimum; one share of any nominal value is enough.
Public register shows: Name, number, registered office, status, business activity codes, directors with service address, nationality, country of residence and month and year of birth, secretary, PSCs, statement of capital, shareholders at each confirmation statement, filed accounts, charges and filing history.
Accounts and audit: Annual accounts within nine months of the year-end and a confirmation statement at least every twelve months. Small companies may claim audit exemption. From April 2028 all accounts are filed in iXBRL through commercial software.
Tax: Corporation tax at 25% on profits above £250,000 and 19% below £50,000, with marginal relief between. No withholding tax on dividends; 20% on interest and royalties, reduced by treaties, with the rate on interest rising to 22% from 6 April 2027. A 10% patent box.

How owners use it

Operating and trading company
Intermediate holding company, using the treaty network and the absence of withholding tax on dividends
Group finance or IP company with real activity
Joint-venture or acquisition vehicle for UK targets

What comes with it

Existing directors verify with the company's next confirmation statement; Companies House expects to begin active enforcement once the transition closes in November 2026
A company incorporated in the UK is UK tax resident; banks and HMRC look for real management and activity that match the business described
Under the 2023 Act a corporate director will need a board made up only of identity-verified natural persons, and overseas corporate directors will be barred; these restrictions have no commencement date yet
Banks ask for the PSC entries, the verification status, the register of members, the latest confirmation statement and accounts, and an ownership chart to the individuals

Partnership · LLP

Limited liability partnership

Law: Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000, with regulations applying the Companies Act 2006

A body corporate with its own legal personality whose members' liability is limited, taxed as a partnership when it carries on a business with a view to profit.

Members: At least two members, at least two of them designated members; corporate members allowed; no residence requirement; a registered office in the UK. Members verify their identity with Companies House.
Capital: No share capital. Members' capital is set by the LLP agreement, which is private and not filed.
Public register shows: Name, number, registered office, members and designated members, PSCs, accounts and confirmation statements.
Accounts and audit: Annual accounts and a confirmation statement as for companies; small LLPs may claim audit exemption.
Tax: Transparent when it carries on a business with a view to profit. Members are taxed on their profit shares, non-resident members on UK-source profits.

How owners use it

Professional firms
Joint ventures
Investment and fund-manager vehicles
Family investment partnerships where tax transparency is intended

What comes with it

The tax result follows each member's residence, so banks ask for an analysis of the members as well as the LLP agreement and KYC on members and PSCs

Partnership · LP · SLP

Limited partnership and Scottish limited partnership

Law: Limited Partnerships Act 1907, as amended; Legislative Reform (Private Fund Limited Partnerships) Order 2017

At least one general partner with unlimited liability and one limited partner liable up to the amount contributed. An English or Northern Irish limited partnership has no separate legal personality; a Scottish one does.

Partners: At least one general and one limited partner; corporate partners allowed.
Beneficial ownership: Scottish limited partnerships and qualifying Scottish partnerships report their PSCs, which the register shows.
Tax: Transparent; partners are taxed on their shares of the profits.
Reform: The 2023 Act provides for a registered office at an appropriate UK address, partner changes within 14 days, annual confirmation statements, identity verification of general partners, filing through ACSPs and the striking off of dissolved or inactive partnerships. Not yet commenced; planned no earlier than the end of 2026.

How owners use it

Private equity, venture and real-estate funds
Family investment partnerships
Co-investment vehicles

What comes with it

Banks ask for the partnership agreement, KYC on the general partner and its owners, PSC data for a Scottish partnership, the fund documents and the manager's regulatory status

Company · ROE

Overseas entity that owns UK land

Law: Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022

Not a UK legal form but a registration. An entity formed outside the UK that owns or buys land in the UK registers at Companies House on the Register of Overseas Entities, in force since August 2022, and names its registrable beneficial owners.

Beneficial owners: Registrable beneficial owners on the same 25% and control tests as PSCs, with the information verified by a UK-regulated agent.
Update statement: Every year, even when nothing has changed, with the information verified no more than three months before the statement date.
Trust information: Filed where an owner is a trustee. Since 31 August 2025 members of the public can apply for access to it.
Penalties: Failing to file is a criminal offence. An entity that does not comply loses its valid ID and cannot deal in its UK land; since 30 June 2025 Companies House annotates non-compliant entries.

How owners use it

A company formed abroad that holds UK property for a family or a group
A foreign fund or investment vehicle that buys UK land

What comes with it

The update statement is due every year, even with no change; without it the entity cannot deal in its land
A non-UK trust that holds UK land may also have to register on HMRC's Trust Registration Service

Sources

Facts as of 30 October 2026

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