Registration of overseas entities

The new Register of Overseas Entities requires overseas entities that own land or property in the UK to declare their beneficial owners and/or managing officers.

Under the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (ECTEA 2022) there will be severe sanctions for those who do not comply, including fines, imprisonment and restrictions on buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging their land or property in the UK.

Which overseas entities does this effect?

Overseas entities who:

• want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK;
• already own or lease land or property in the UK;
• bought property or land on or after:
  • 1 January 1999 in England and Wales
  • 8 December 2014 in Scotland
  • 1 August 2022 in Northern Ireland; or
• disposed of property or land in the UK after 28 February 2022

What you need to do

All of the above entities must register with Companies House and disclose who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are.

Deadline

The deadline for registration is 31 January 2023.

How to register your overseas entity with the Register of Overseas Entities

If you would like help registering your overseas entity or if you have any queries concerning your obligation to register, please contact Michael Kashis or Umair Uddin in the Corporate & Commercial team or call on 020 7631 4141 and ask for a member of the team.