Company Formation Specialists

Are There Special Rules For Small and Medium-Sized Groups?

The rules for Small and Medium-Sized Groups have now changed.

Small Companies - A parent company which qualifies as small need not prepare group accounts or submit them to Companies House if the group is small and not ineligible. A group is ineligible if any of its members is:

• a public company;
• a body corporate (other than a company) whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market in an EEA State;
• a person (other than a small company) who has permission under Part 4 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to carry on a regulated activity;
• a small company that is an authorised insurance company, a banking company, an e-money issuer, a MiFID investment firm or a UCITS management company; or
• a person who carries on insurance market activity.

Please note: Please contact Companies House for further information on exemption that apply to companies which would otherwise qualify as small but which are members of ineligible groups.

If a small parent company decides to prepare group accounts their content is prescribed by the 2006 Act and by Schedule 6 to the Small Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors’) Report Regulations 2008.

If you prepare group accounts they must contain a statement above the signature on the balance sheet, confirming that they are prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

Medium Sized Companies - A medium-sized parent company must prepare group accounts and submit them to Companies House.

To qualify as small, a group of companies must meet at least two of the following conditions:

• annual turnover must be not more than  £6.5 million;
• the balance sheet total must be not more than £3.26 million;
• the average number of employees must be not more than 50.

 

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