ContractStore Legal Business Blog

The final stage for implementing the 2006 Companies Act occurred on 1st October.

From that date new companies no longer have to state their objects in the Memorandum, and there will be a new model form of Articles of Association.

Company forms for filing at Companies House will also change.

To summarise, the changes will cover:

For full details of the changes, go to Companies House website

The Government confirmed yesterday, 7th November, that implementation of parts of the new Companies Act will be delayed for a year – until October 2009. It was feared that companies might incur

The longest statute ever passed by the UK parliament is the Companies Act 2006. There is some irony in this because one of the reasons for the new law, according to the government, was that they wanted to simplify company law, in particular for smaller companies.

Because of its length and complexity, the Act is being introduced in stages, commencing in January 2007, and going through to October 2008. We will provide updates on the blog as the stages unfold.

Among the sections which came into effect on 1 October, are the following changes:

• New duties for Directors. As well as having to act in good faith to promote the company, directors now have to exercise care, skill and diligence; independent judgement; and have regard to not only the interests of the company but also the interests of its employees and the impact of the company’s operations on the community and the environment. There is more detail in the Act itself.
• Shareholders approval is now required for any service contract for a director which lasts more than two years.
• Shareholder approval is also required for any payoff to a director which exceeds the amount to which he or she is entitled under their employment contract. (Presumably Mr O’Neal, until recently the Chairman of Merrill Lynch, may not have seen so much of his