Company Formation Specialists

What Is A Qualifying Partnership And What Accounts Must They Prepare?

A qualifying partnership is a partnership formed under the law of any part of the United Kingdom if each of the members is:

• a limited company; or
• an unlimited company or a Scottish partnership, each of whose members is a limited company.

The partnership regulations will apply to most limited partnerships that have limited companies as their general partners and are registered under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, as these partnerships must have their principal place of business in Great Britain on registration.

Note: Any reference to a qualifying partnership in relation to a limited partnership is a reference to the general partners only; and
Any reference to a limited company, or unlimited company, or a partnership (including a Scottish Partnership) includes any comparable undertaking formed under the laws of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom.

What accounts must the partnership prepare?

The partnership must produce audited accounts as if it were a company.  The accounts must conform to the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and related regulations.

Under Regulation 7 of The Partnerships (Accounts) Regulations 2008, members of a qualifying partnership do not have to prepare partnership accounts if the partnership is dealt with on a consolidated basis in group accounts prepared by either:

• a member of the partnership which is established under the law of a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA); or
• a parent undertaking of such a member.

In these cases, the group accounts must be prepared and audited under the law of the member state in accordance with the Seventh Company Law Directive or International Accounting Standards.  A note to the group accounts must disclose that advantage has been taken of this exemption.

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