Companies (Beneficial Interests) Act 1983 (c. 50)

This Act shall have effect, and be deemed always to have had effect, for the interpretation of references to a beneficial interest under a trust, or to a beneficial interest in shares, in the following provisions of the [1948 c. 38.] Companies Act 1948 and the [1980 c. 22.] Companies Act 1980— (a) section 27(2) of the Act of 1948 (by virtue of which a subsidiary may hold shares in its holding company if the subsidiary is concerned as trustee and neither the holding company nor any of its subsidiaries is beneficially interested under the trust); (b) paragraph 60(2) of Schedule 8 and paragraph 15(3) of Schedule 8A to that Act (by virtue of which the accounts of a holding company need not give particulars of shares or debentures held by a subsidiary in the circumstances described in the said section 27(2)); (c) section 36(6)(a) of the Act of 1980 (by virtue of which the provisions of that section relating to the acquisition of shares by nominees do not apply where the company has no beneficial interest in the shares); and (d) section 37(1)(b), (c) and (d) of that Act (which makes provision for the treatment of shares in a company in which it has a beneficial interest and which are acquired in the circumstances there mentioned).

(1) Where shares in a company are held on trust for the purposes of a pension scheme or an employees' share scheme there shall be disregarded any residual interest which has not vested in possession, being an interest of the company or, as respects the provisions mentioned in section 1(a) and (b) above, of any subsidiary of the company. (2) In this section "a residual interest" means a right of the company or subsidiary in question ("the residual beneficiary") to receive any of the trust property in the event of— (a) all the liabilities arising under the scheme having been satisfied or provided for; or (b) the residual beneficiary ceasing to participate in the scheme; or (c) the trust property at any time exceeding what is necessary for satisfying the liabilities arising or expected to arise under the scheme. (3) In subsection (2) above references to a right include references to a right dependent on the exercise of a discretion vested by the scheme in the trustee or any other person, and references to liabilities arising under a scheme include references to liabilities that have resulted or may result from the exercise of any such discretion. (4) The Schedule to this Act shall have effect as respects the operation of section 27 of the Act of 1948 and sections 36 and 37 of the Act of 1980 in cases where a residual interest vests in possession. (5) For the purposes of this section a residual interest vests in possession— (a) in a case within paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above, on the occurrence of the event there mentioned, whether or not the amount of the property receivable pursuant to the right referred to in that subsection is then ascertained; and (b) in a case within paragraph (b) or (c) of that subsection, when the residual beneficiary becomes entitled to require the trustee to transfer to that beneficiary any of the property receivable pursuant to that right. (6) As respects the provisions mentioned in section 1(b) above subsection (1) above shall have effect as if references to shares included references to debentures.