Published: 1 April 2025 10:20 am  Author: Oliver Stanley

ECCTA Changes – full shareholder information to be provided and restrictions on use of corporate directors

Companies House has announced that as part of the changes being brought in by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act – as a “positive step” towards greater transparency on company ownership – companies limited by share must:

• record the full names of shareholders in their register of members
• tell Companies House the full names of all shareholders and provide a one-off full shareholder list when they file their next confirmation statement.

This will not apply to you if your company is subject to DTR5.  Traded companies only need to tell us about shareholders that own 5% or more shares.  Companies that are exempt from providing people with significant control (PSC) information will also need to give more details about the exemption, including where their shares are traded and on which regulated market.

There will also be restrictions on the use of corporate directors. Only UK corporate entities with ‘legal personality’ can be appointed as corporate directors. The directors of these corporate directors must be natural persons.

There is not yet a confirmed date for when these changes will come into force, but they will not be implemented before companies have completed identity verification requirements.