Companies Act
The Companies Act comprises of approximately 1,300 sections and introduces new legislation which reflects the changing business environment.
The Act provides for a single company law regime applying to the whole of the UK, so that companies will be UK companies rather than GB companies or Northern Ireland companies as at present. In Scotland, there are several areas where the Act deals with matters that are devolved.
Summary of the Act
| PART | SUMMARY |
|---|---|
| 1 to 7 | The fundamentals of what a company is, how it can be formed and what it can be called. |
| 8 to 12 | The members (shareholders) and officers (management) of a company |
| 13 and 14 | How companies may take decisions |
| 15 and 16 | The safeguards for ensuring that the officers of a company are accountable to its members |
| 17 to 25 | Raising share capital, capital maintenance and company charges |
| 26 to 28 | Company reconstructions, mergers and takeovers |
| 29 to 39 | The regulatory framework, application to companies not formed under the Companies Acts and other company law provisions |
| 40 to 42 | Overseas disqualification of directors, business names and statutory auditors |
| 43 | Transparency obligations |
| 44 to 47 | Miscellaneous and general |
In the 11th and 12th centuries half a million pilgrims a year travelled on foot from all over Europe to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. In September 1992 Patrick Shanahan retraced their steps, recording his 500 mile journey in a series of photographs, some of which are reproduced on this website.