People With Significant Control (PSCs)

A PSC can be someone who:

• Has decision rights over important topics in the firm. For example, adopting a new business plan or making a veto without consulting anyone else about it. 
• Regularly influences the company’s management and its decisions. For example, it can be a previous co-founder sharing their recommendations with the firm’s shareholders who have voting rights to back their decisions. 

Yes. If a legal entity holds significant control over a company, it can be registered as a Relevant Legal Entity (RLE) on the PSC register. For example, it can be registered in the UK or in a country with equivalent PSC or beneficial ownership reporting rules. If the controlling entity is not subject to such requirements, companies still need to identify the individual PSCs.

PSC is a UK-specific concept linked to the Companies House registration requirement for UK entities, while the UBO, or Ultimate Beneficial Owner, definition is a broader term used in other markets (EU or the US, for example). However, both UBOs and PSCs have the same 25% share threshold. 

Start by reviewing all shareholding and shareholder agreements and then examining the exact voting rights (including board authority, and if they have any specific veto powers). Then, confirm the details of each identified PSC.

You need to review who owns the company, but the process is complex, even with AI and today’s automation tools. Some firms are relatively hidden. That means PSCs can go incognito and hide under trusts, family members, or other entities registered in different jurisdictions, etc. 

The company needs to record a statement, which clearly states that it has no registrable PSCs. In the meantime, if the company is still assessing and trying to identify the people with significant control, it also has to confirm and record that these details are pending/being confirmed. Blank or missing entries are seen as a non-compliant move by the company. 

Firms in the UK are required to collect and verify people with significant control, including the following details:

• Full name, date of birth, nationality, country of residence
• The date on which the individual became a PSC
• Service address and usual residential address
• The nature of their control in the firm (for example, they own 26–50% of shares)

The PSC register is a database that all UK limited companies, LLPs, and some other company types are legally required to maintain to ensure that it’s easy to identify the nature of the company and who owns/controls it in a single, unified system. UK firms need to identify their PSCs, have an internal register, and then file this information with Companies House. 

Yes. If the owners or directors operate elsewhere, the People with Significant Control (PSC) rules still apply to any UK-registered entity. In other words, if the company is incorporated in the UK, it has to keep up with the PSC register and the Companies House reporting requirements.