The recently introduced Register of Overseas Entities (‘ROE”’)  required any entity holding land registered in the UK to register with Companies House in the UK.  An overseas entity is required to register if it owns land purchased:

• in England and Wales: On or after 1^st January 1999;
• in Scotland: On or after 8^th December 2014; or
• in Northern Ireland: On or after 1^st August 2022.

As part of the registration process, the overseas entity is required to disclose information about itself, its registrable beneficial owners and in some cases, its managing officers. Importantly, this information needs to be independently verified by an appropriately authorised person before an application for registration on the ROE can be made.

The deadline for registration was the 31^st January 2023 however we are aware that many entities have yet to be registered, with HMRC reporting over 18,000 overseas entities who together own over 50,000 properties in the UK, who have failed to register on the ROE.

Entities who purchased land before 1^st January 1999 but intend to transfer the land to another party will need to register before the transaction can proceed.

If you require assistance in registering on the ROE then we can provide that service for you.

Please contact Blair Kelly or your usual CM contact for further information on how we can help.