MacRoberts Corporate Law e-update 23/11/09

DIRECTORS CAN NOW FILE A SERVICE ADDRESS - AND KEEP THEIR HOME ADDRESS PRIVATE

As outlined in our previous Protecting Directors e-update, as part of the final sections of the Companies Act 2006 which came into force on 1 October, it is now possible for company directors to register a "service address" with Companies House.

The effect of registering a service address is that the director's home address no longer appears on the public register (other than as a matter of historical fact on old documents lodged previously, which will not be removed from the register), and so if a third party views a company's details, they should no longer see the director's home address.

Prior to the new Act, such protection was only available to directors who could show they were at risk of violence and intimidation by having their home address in the public domain, but many directors who, for one reason or another, would prefer to keep their home address private can now do so by filing the relevant form.

Other changes under the new Act have included:

• the amalgamation of existing companies' articles and memorandum of association into one
  document;
• the replacement of Table A of the Companies Act 1985 with the new "Model Articles"; and
• enhanced provisions in relation to approval of directors' conflicts of interest.

In light of these changes, many companies which may have been holding off updating their articles until all of the provisions of the new Act came into force should now be considering taking the opportunity to update their articles, to ensure that they are both in compliance with the law as it now stands, and to take full advantage of the possibilities afforded by the new Act.

For further information, please contact Neil Kennedy on 0141 332 9988 or Alan Kelly on 0131
229 5046.

© MacRoberts 2009

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