Limited
Liability Companies (General Provisions) (Jersey) Regulations 2022
PART 1
PRELIMINARY
1 Interpretation
(1) In
these Regulations –
“auditor” means –
(a) in the case of an
individual, an individual who is a member of a recognised professional body and
is permitted by that body to engage in public practice;
(b) in the case of a
partnership, a partnership that is a qualified partnership and where the person
responsible to the partnership for examining or reporting on the accounts of a
limited liability company under Regulation 12 is an individual who is a
member of a recognised professional body and is permitted by that body to
engage in public practice; and
(c) in respect of a limited
liability company, an individual, body corporate, limited liability body, limited
liability company or firm authorised by the Commission under Regulation 15(5)
to carry out an audit of the limited liability company;
“holding body” has the
meaning given by Regulation 2;
“holding limited liability
company” has the meaning given by Regulation 2;
“Law” means the Limited Liability
Companies (Jersey) Law 2018;
“limited liability body” means an entity established
or registered in a jurisdiction outside Jersey with legal personality separate
from its members that is not a body corporate;
“LLC consent” means a consent, approval or vote
given –
(a) by the members in
accordance with the LLC agreement or Article 16 of the Law; or
(b) by the managers in
accordance with the LLC agreement or Article 25 of the Law;
“manager” includes a member in whom the
management of the limited liability company vests in accordance with Article 21
of the Law;
“officer”, in relation to
a limited liability company, means a manager or liquidator;
“partnership” includes –
(a) a firm of a similar
character to a partnership formed under the law of a country or territory
outside Jersey; and
(b) a limited liability partnership that is
registered under the Limited Liability Partnerships (Jersey) Law 2017 or a firm of a similar character
to a limited liability partnership formed under the law of a jurisdiction
outside Jersey,
but
excludes a body corporate and a limited liability
company;
“prospectus” means an invitation to the public
to become a member of a limited liability company or to acquire or apply for
any securities, for which purposes an invitation will not be considered to be
made to the public where –
(a) the invitation is
addressed to either or both of the following –
(i) qualified investors as defined in
Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
14 June 2017 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to
the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market (OJ L 168,
30.6.2017, p. 12), as amended from time to time,
(ii) professional investors
as defined in Article 3(4) of the Financial Services
(Investment Business (Special Purpose Investment Business – Exemption))
(Jersey) Order 2001;
(b) the number of persons
(other than qualified investors and professional investors described in
sub-paragraph (a)) to whom the invitation is addressed does not exceed 50 in
Jersey and 150 elsewhere;
(c) the minimum consideration
which may be paid or given by a person for securities to be acquired by that
person is at least EUR 100,000 (or an equivalent amount in another
currency);
(d) the securities to be
acquired or applied for are denominated in amounts of at least EUR 100,000
(or an equivalent amount in another currency);
(e) the invitation relates to
the issue of LLC interests or other securities by a limited liability company
to its members in satisfaction, in whole or in part, of a distribution to be
made by that limited liability company;
(f) the invitation relates
to a scheme specified in Regulation 28(2); or
(g) any combination of
sub-paragraphs (a) to (f) applies;
“qualified partnership”
means a partnership –
(a) in which more than half
of its partners are any of, or any combination of, the following –
(i) individuals who are members of recognised
professional bodies,
(ii) partnerships that are
themselves auditors as defined in paragraph (b) of the definition
“auditor”,
(iii) bodies corporate that are
themselves auditors as defined in paragraph (c) of the definition
“auditor”,
(iv) individuals who hold a
qualification to audit accounts under the law of a European Economic Area Member
State other than the Republic of Ireland; and
(b) in which more than half
of the voting rights in the partnership and, if it has a management body, in
that body, are held by persons specified in sub-paragraph (a);
“recognised professional body” means one of the
following –
(a) the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;
(b) the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Scotland;
(c) the Association of
Chartered Certified Accountants;
(d) Chartered Accountants
Ireland;
“takeover offer” has the
meaning given by Regulation 36(1);
“securities” means –
(a) LLC interests,
debentures, debenture stock, loan stock and bonds;
(b) warrants entitling the
holders to subscribe for any securities specified in sub-paragraph (a); or
(c) other securities of any
description;
“subsidiary” has the meaning given
by Regulation 2;
“wholly-owned subsidiary” has
the meaning given by Regulation 2.[1]
(2) In
these Regulations, references to a body corporate do not include a limited
liability company registered as a body corporate.[2]
2 Meanings of “subsidiary”, “wholly-owned subsidiary” “holding
body” and “holding limited liability company”
(1) A
limited liability company is a subsidiary of a body corporate or another
limited liability company if –
(a) the second body –
(i) holds a majority of the voting rights in
the first body,
(ii) is a member of the first
body and has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the managers of the
first body, or
(iii) is a member of the first
body and controls alone, under an agreement with other shareholders or members,
a majority of the voting rights in the first body; or
(b) the first body is a
subsidiary of a limited liability company or a body corporate which is itself a
subsidiary of the second body.
(2) A
limited liability company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of another limited
liability company or a body corporate if the first body has no members
except –
(a) the second body; and
(b) wholly-owned subsidiaries
of or persons acting on behalf of the second body or the second body’s
wholly-owned subsidiaries.
(3) A
limited liability company is the holding body of another limited liability
company or a body corporate if the second body is a subsidiary of the first
body.
(4) A
holding limited liability company is a limited liability company that is a
holding body.
3 Members and managers
(1) An
individual person must not be a member or a manager of a limited liability
company if –
(a) the person has not
attained the age of 18 years; or
(b) the person lacks capacity
as defined in Article 4 of the Capacity and Self-Determination
(Jersey) Law 2016 and –
(i) another person is acting for and on behalf
of that person by authority of a lasting power of attorney conferred under Part 2
of the Capacity and Self-Determination
(Jersey) Law 2016, or
(ii) a delegate is appointed
for that person under Part 4 of the Capacity and
Self-Determination (Jersey) Law 2016; or
(c) the person is
disqualified from being a member or a manager under Regulation 4 or any other
enactment.
(2) The
following types of partnership must not be a manager of a limited liability
company –
(a) an incorporated limited
partnership;
(b) a separate limited
partnership;
(c) a limited liability
partnership.
4 Disqualification orders
(1) If
it appears to the Minister, the Commission or the Attorney General that it is
in the public interest that a person should not without the leave of the Court
be a manager of a limited liability company, the Minister, the Commission or
the Attorney General may apply to the Court for an order to that effect against
the person.
(2) The
Court may make the order applied for if it is satisfied that the person’s
conduct makes the person unfit to be concerned in the management of a limited
liability company.
(3) A
person subject to an order under paragraph (2) is prohibited from being a
member of a limited liability company that has not appointed a manager.
(4) An
order under paragraph (2) is made for a specified period which must not exceed
15 years.
(5) A
person who acts in contravention of an order made under this Regulation commits
an offence and is liable to a fine and 2
years imprisonment.
5 Personal responsibility for liabilities where person acts
while disqualified
(1) A
person who acts in contravention of an order made under Regulation 4 is
personally responsible for any liabilities of the limited liability company that
are incurred at a time when that person was, in contravention of the order,involved
in its management.
(2) Where
a person is personally responsible under paragraph (1) for liabilities of
a limited liability company, the person is jointly and severally liable in
respect of those liabilities with it and with any other person who, whether
under this Regulation or otherwise, is so liable.
PART 2
Accounts
and audit
Division 1
– Accounts
6 Accounts
(1) A
limited liability company must keep accounting records or returns of the
limited liability company that are sufficient to show and explain the limited
liability company’s transactions and to disclose with reasonable accuracy at
any time the financial position of the limited liability company at that time.
(2) A
limited liability company whose accounting records are kept in Jersey –
(a) may provide its secretary
with the accounting records of the limited liability company at any time; and
(b) must provide its
secretary, within one month of the end of the limited liability company’s
accounting period, with any accounting records of the limited liability company
in respect of that accounting period that have not already been provided under
sub-paragraph (a).
(3) A
limited liability company whose accounting records are kept outside Jersey must
provide its secretary, at intervals of not more than 6 months, with a
return with respect to the business dealt with in those accounting records in
respect of the 6-month period ending no earlier than one month before the date
of providing the return.
(4) A
limited liability company that fails to provide to its secretary its accounting
records or a return as required under paragraph (2) or (3) commits an
offence and is liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.
(5) Accounts
prepared by a limited liability company must –
(a) be prepared in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles; and
(b) specify which generally
accepted accounting principles have been adopted in their preparation.
(6) A
limited liability company’s accounting period must be –
(a) not more than 18 months
beginning on the day the limited liability company was registered; and
(b) if the limited liability
company had previously prepared accounts, not more than 18 months
beginning at the end of the period covered by the most recent accounts.
(7) For
the purposes of this Regulation, the managers of a holding limited liability
company need not prepare separate accounts under paragraph (1) if
consolidated accounts for the limited liability company are prepared, unless by
virtue of the LLC agreement or an LLC consent given by the managers of the
limited liability company separate accounts are required.
7 Publication of interim
accounts
A limited liability
company must not publish interim accounts, whether or not audited, unless the
accounts have been prepared in accordance with any generally accepted
accounting principles.
8 Copies of accounts
(1) This
Regulation applies where a member of a limited liability company who has not
previously been furnished with a copy of its latest accounts makes a written
request to the limited liability company to be furnished with a copy of those
accounts together with a copy of any auditor’s report on them.
(2) The
limited liability company must, without charge and within 7 days of the
request being made to it, furnish to the person the accounts requested together
with any auditor’s report on them.
9 Delivery of accounts to
registrar
(1) The
managers of a limited liability company that has circulated a prospectus must,
for each financial period of the limited liability company, deliver to the registrar –
(a) a copy of the limited
liability company’s accounts for the period signed on behalf of the managers by
one of them;
(b) a copy of the auditor’s
report on the accounts; and
(c) if any of the documents
is not in English, a copy of it in English, certified to be a correct
translation.
(2) The
documents must be delivered to the registrar within 7 months after the end
of the financial period to which they relate.
(3) If
a limited liability company ceases to have to audit and deliver its accounts to
the registrar under Regulation 27 during a financial period –
(a) paragraph (1)
applies in relation to the limited liability company in respect of that financial
period; but
(b) the requirement in
paragraph (1) to deliver accounts is taken to have been satisfied if the
accounts relate to either all of the financial period (including a period when
the limited liability company was no longer required to audit and deliver its
accounts to the registrar under Regulation 27) or to only the part of the
financial period during which the limited liability company was required to
audit and deliver its accounts to the registrar.
(4) Paragraph (5)
applies if a limited liability company applies in writing to the Commission for
an extension, not later than one month before the end of the period mentioned
in –
(a) Regulation 6(2)(b)
or (3); or
(b) paragraph (2) of
this Regulation.
(5) The
Commission may, by written notice to the limited liability company, extend the
period if it is satisfied that a special reason for doing so exists.
(6) If
the Commission does so, it must send a copy of the notice to the registrar.
(7) A
limited liability company must pay the published fee and any late fee on delivering
documents under this Regulation.
10 Failure to comply with Regulation 6, 7, 8 or 9
(1) If
a limited liability company fails to comply with Regulation 6 or 7, each
of the following commits an offence and is liable to a fine of level 3 on the
standard scale –
(a) the
limited liability company;
(b) each manager of the
limited liability company.
(2) If
a limited liability company fails to comply with Regulation 8 or 9, each
of the following commits an offence and is liable to a fine of level 2 on the
standard scale –
(a) the limited liability
company;
(b) each manager of the
limited liability company.
Division 2
– Audit
11 Appointment and removal of auditors
(1) A
limited liability company must appoint an auditor if –
(a) it is circulating a
prospectus in accordance with Regulation 30; or
(b) its LLC agreement requires
it.
(2) The
audit of the limited liability company’s accounts by any person other than an
auditor appointed under paragraph (1) is of no effect for the purposes of
this Part.
(3) The
members or managers of the limited liability company must, at any time before
the conclusion of the limited liability company’s first financial period,
approve the appointment of an auditor to hold office to the conclusion of the
following financial period.
(4) An
auditor appointed under paragraph (3) continues to hold office until the
appointment of the auditor is brought to an end by an LLC consent of the
members.
(5) A
limited liability company may, in accordance with its LLC agreement or with Article 16
of the Law, at any time remove an auditor despite anything in any agreement
between it and the auditor.
(6) Nothing
in this Regulation is to be taken as depriving a person removed under it of
compensation or damages payable to the person in respect of the termination of
the person’s appointment as auditor.
(7) A
limited liability company that fails to comply with paragraph (1) and each
manager of the limited liability company in default commits an offence and –
(a) in the case of the
company, is liable to a fine; and
(b) in the case of a manager,
is liable to two years imprisonment or a fine, or both
12 Auditor’s report
(1) The
auditor appointed under Regulation 11 must make a report to the limited
liability company’s members on the accounts of the limited liability company
examined by the auditor.
(2) The
report must state whether, in the opinion of the auditor, the accounts –
(a) have been properly
prepared in accordance with these Regulations; and
(b) give a true and fair view
or, alternatively, are presented fairly in all material respects.
(3) The
report must –
(a) state the name of the
auditor; and
(b) be signed and dated.
(4) If –
(a) the auditor is an individual,
the report must be signed by the auditor; or
(b) the auditor is a firm,
the report must be signed by the individual in the firm who is responsible to
it for examining and reporting on the accounts, in the individual’s name for
and on behalf of the auditor.
(5) The
fact that an individual signs an audit report does not make the individual
liable to any civil liability to which the individual would not otherwise be
liable.
13 Auditor’s duties and powers
(1) This
Regulation applies to an auditor appointed
under Regulation 11.
(2) The
auditor of a limited liability company must, in preparing an audit report,
carry out such investigations as will enable the auditor to form an opinion as
to –
(a) whether proper accounting
records have been kept by the limited liability company;
(b) whether proper returns adequate
for the audit have been received from branches not visited by the auditor; and
(c) whether the limited
liability company’s accounts are in agreement with its accounting records and
returns.
(3) The
auditor must state in the report if the auditor is of the opinion –
(a) that proper accounting
records have not been kept by the limited liability company;
(b) that proper returns
adequate for the audit have not been received from branches not visited by the
auditor; or
(c) that the limited
liability company’s accounts are not in agreement with its accounting records
and returns.
(4) The
auditor of a limited liability company –
(a) has a right of access to
the limited liability company’s records at all times; and
(b) is entitled to require
any relevant person to provide any information and explanations as the auditor
thinks necessary for the performance of the auditor’s duties.
(5) Any
information or explanation provided by a person in response to a requirement
under paragraph (4)(b) may not be used in evidence against the person in
criminal proceedings except proceedings for an offence under Regulation 14(2).
(6) Nothing
in paragraph (4)(b) compels a person to provide any information or
explanation which the person would be entitled to refuse to provide in
proceedings in court on the ground of legal professional privilege.
(7) The
auditor of a limited liability company is entitled –
(a) to receive notice of, and
to attend, any meeting of members of the limited liability company; and
(b) to be heard on any part
of the business of that meeting that concerns the auditor.
(8) The
auditor of a limited liability company must mention in an audit report any
failure to obtain from the limited liability company any information or
explanation that, to the best of the auditor’s knowledge and belief, was
necessary for the audit.
(9) An
auditor of a limited liability company may resign from office by depositing at
the limited liability company’s registered office –
(a) a written notice of
resignation; and
(b) a statement under
paragraph (11).
(10) The
notice operates to bring the auditor’s term of office to an end –
(a) on the date on which the
notice is deposited; or
(b) if a later date is
specified in the notice, on that later date.
(11) When,
for any reason, an auditor of a limited liability company ceases to hold office,
the auditor must deposit at the limited liability company’s registered
office –
(a) a statement to the effect
that there are no circumstances connected with the auditor’s ceasing to hold
office that the auditor considers should be brought to the notice of the
members or creditors of the limited liability company; or
(b) if there are such
circumstances, a statement setting out those circumstances.
(12) A
limited liability company that receives a statement mentioned in
paragraph (11)(b) must, within 14 days of receiving the statement,
send a copy of it to each member of the limited liability company.
(13) An
auditor who fails to comply with paragraph (11) and each officer of the
auditor in default commits an offence and is liable to a fine.
(14) A
limited liability company that fails to comply with paragraph (12) and
each manager of the limited liability company in default commits an offence and
is liable to a fine.
(15) In
this Regulation and in Regulation 14, “relevant person” means –
(a) any person who is, or at
any relevant time was, an officer, manager or the secretary of the limited
liability company;
(b) any person who is, or at
any relevant time was, an employee of the limited liability company and who
appears to possess information which the auditor thinks necessary for the
performance of the auditor’s duties; or
(c) any person who holds or
is accountable for, or who at any relevant time held or was accountable for,
any of the limited liability company’s records and who appears to possess such
information.
14 False statements to
auditors
(1) This
Regulation applies to a limited liability companies that is required to appoint
an auditor under Regulation 11.
(2) A
relevant person (as defined in Regulation 13(15)) commits an offence and is liable
to a fine and 5 years imprisonment if –
(a) knowingly or recklessly,
the relevant person makes to the auditor of the limited liability company,
either in writing or orally, a statement that conveys or purports to convey any
information or explanation that the auditor requires, or is entitled to
require, as auditor of the limited liability company; and
(b) the statement is false or
misleading in a material particular.
15 Ineligibility and authorisation to act as auditor
(1) A
person who is not an auditor must not –
(a) accept an appointment to
be or act as the auditor of a limited liability company for the purposes of
this Part; or
(b) attempt to persuade
others that the person is an auditor.
(2) If,
during the term of office of the auditor of a limited liability company, the
auditor becomes ineligible for appointment as the auditor of the limited
liability company, the auditor must immediately –
(a) resign from office; and
(b) in accordance with Regulation
13(9), (10)(a) and (11), give written notice to the limited liability company
that the auditor has resigned by reason of becoming ineligible for appointment.
(3) A
person commits an offence and is liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment if
the person –
(a) accepts an appointment to
be, or acts as, the auditor of a limited liability company in contravention of
paragraph (1)(a);
(b) attempts to persuade
others that the person is an auditor in contravention of paragraph (1)(b);
or
(c) fails to resign from
office under paragraph (2)(a) or give the notice mentioned in
paragraph (2)(b).
(4) In
proceedings against a person for an offence under paragraph (3) it is a
defence for the person to show that the person did not know and had no reason
to believe that the person was, or had become, ineligible for appointment as
the auditor of the limited liability company.
(5) The
Commission may, in respect of a limited liability company, on the application
of an individual, a body corporate, a limited liability body or a firm that is
not an auditor, authorise the individual, body corporate, limited liability
body or firm to carry out an audit of the limited liability company for the
purposes of this Part.
(6) An
individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm that knowingly or
recklessly provides information in respect of an application under
paragraph (5) that is false or misleading in a material particular commits
an offence and is liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment.
(7) The
Commission may, when authorising an individual, a body corporate, a limited
liability body or a firm under paragraph (5) or at any subsequent time,
make the authorisation subject to the individual, body corporate, limited
liability body or firm complying with any conditions or limitations that the Commission considers
appropriate, including, in particular, in the case of a firm, a condition or
limitation that would set out whom the firm may be responsible to the firm for
examining and reporting on the accounts of a limited liability company under Regulation 11.
(8) The
Commission may amend the conditions or limitations –
(a) at any time of its own
volition; or
(b) on the application of the
individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm authorised by the
Commission.
(9) The
Commission may suspend or revoke the authorisation of an individual, a body
corporate, a limited liability body or a firm under paragraph (5)
if –
(a) in the opinion of the
Commission, the individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm is
not competent or is not a fit and proper individual, body corporate, limited
liability body or firm to carry out an audit of the limited liability company
for the purposes of this Part; or
(b) the individual, body
corporate, limited liability body or firm has breached any condition or
limitation imposed under paragraph (7).
(10) The
Commission may, under paragraph (9), suspend the authorisation of an
individual, a body corporate, a limited liability body or a firm –
(a) for a specified period; or
(b) until, on the application
of the individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm, the
individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm satisfies the
Commission that the suspension may be revoked.
(11) If
an individual, a body corporate, a limited liability body or a firm that is
authorised under paragraph (5) requests the Commission to suspend or
revoke the authorisation of the individual, body corporate, limited liability
body or firm, the Commission must comply with the request and may
publish –
(a) the name of the
individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm;
(b) details of the action it
took in respect of the individual, body corporate, limited liability body or
firm; and
(c) the reason why it took
that action.
(12) The
suspension of the authorisation of an individual, a body corporate, a limited
liability body or a firm under paragraph (11) must be –
(a) for a specified period;
or
(b) if no period is
specified, until the individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm
applies to the Commission for the authorisation to be restored.
(13) The
Commission must serve a notice on the relevant individual, body corporate,
limited liability body or firm within 7 days after taking one of the
following actions –
(a) refusing to authorise an
individual, a body corporate, a limited liability body or a firm under
paragraph (5);
(b) making the authorisation
of an individual, a body corporate, a limited liability body or a firm subject
to conditions or limitations under paragraph (7);
(c) amending conditions or
limitations of the authorisation of an individual, a body corporate, a limited
liability body, or a firm under paragraph (8)(a);
(d) refusing to amend any
condition or limitation of the authorisation of an individual, a body
corporate, a limited liability body or a firm on an application made under
paragraph (8)(b);
(e) suspending or revoking
the authorisation of an individual, a body corporate, a limited liability body
or a firm under paragraph (9);
(f) refusing to revoke the
suspension of the authorisation of an individual, a body corporate, a limited
liability body or a firm on an application under paragraph (10)(b).
(14) The
notice must –
(a) specify the action taken
by the Commission;
(b) set out the reasons why
the Commission took the action; and
(c) advise the individual, body
corporate, limited liability body or firm of the right under paragraph (15)
to appeal to the Court against the action taken by the Commission.
(15) Where
the Commission has served a notice on an individual, a body corporate, a
limited liability body or a firm under paragraph (14) –
(a) the individual, body
corporate, limited liability body or firm may, within 28 days of the
service of the notice or within such longer period as the Court may approve,
appeal to the Court against the action taken by the Commission specified in the
notice, on the ground that it was unreasonable for the Commission to take the
action in all the circumstances of the case; but
(b) unless the Court orders
otherwise, if the individual, body corporate, limited liability body or firm
does appeal, the action taken by the Commission and specified in the notice is
not stayed and continues to have effect.
(16) The
Court may, on an appeal under paragraph (15), make such order as it
considers appropriate.
(17) Paragraph (18)
applies if –
(a) the Commission –
(i) makes the authorisation of an individual, a
body corporate, a limited liability body or a firm subject to conditions or limitations
under paragraph (7),
(ii) amends conditions or limitations
of the authorisation of an individual, a body corporate, a limited liability
body or a firm under paragraph (8), or
(iii) suspends or revokes the
authorisation of an individual, a body corporate, a limited liability body or a
firm under paragraph (9); and
(b) the period for making an
appeal under paragraph (15) has expired and no appeal was made or, if
made, was unsuccessful or withdrawn.
(18) If
this paragraph applies, the Commission may publish –
(a) the name of the individual,
body corporate, limited liability body or firm;
(b) details of the action it
took in respect of the individual, body corporate, limited liability body or
firm; and
(c) the reason why it took
that action.
16 Independence requirements – personal relationships
(1) An
auditor must not act as the auditor of a limited liability company if the
auditor is –
(a) a manager, secretary or
employee of the limited liability company;
(b) a partner, or employee,
of a manager, a secretary, or an employee of the limited liability company; or
(c) a person against whom an
order under Regulation 4 is in force.
(2) An
auditor must not act as the auditor of a limited liability company if –
(a) the auditor is –
(i) an officer, director or employee of a
limited liability company or body corporate, or
(ii) a partner, or employee,
of an officer, director or employee of a limited liability company or body
corporate; and
(b) the limited liability
company or body corporate is –
(i) a subsidiary or holding body of the
limited liability company, or
(ii) a subsidiary of the
limited liability company’s holding body.
17 Independence requirements – partnership relationships
(1) An
auditor that is a partnership must not act as the auditor of a limited
liability company if any of the partners of the partnership is a person who, under
Regulation 16, must not act as the auditor of the limited liability
company.
(2) An
auditor that is a partnership must not act as the auditor of a limited
liability company if any of the partners of the partnership is –
(a) the limited liability
company whose accounts are to be audited;
(b) a holding body or
subsidiary of that limited liability company; or
(c) a subsidiary of any such
holding body.
18 Independence requirements – body corporate or limited liability
body relationships
(1) An
auditor that is a body corporate or limited liability body must not act as the
auditor of a limited liability company if any of the individuals who are
responsible to the auditor for examining or reporting on the accounts of the
limited liability company, or any of the shareholders, members, directors or
managers of the body corporate or limited liability body, is a person who, under
Regulation 16, must not act as the auditor of the limited liability company.
(2) An
auditor that is a body corporate or limited liability body must not act as the
auditor of a limited liability company if any of the following hold shares or
membership interests in the body corporate or limited liability body –
(a) the limited liability
company whose accounts are to be audited;
(b) a holding body or
subsidiary of that limited liability company; or
(c) a subsidiary of any such
holding body.
19 Effect of lack of independence
(1) If,
during an auditor’s term of office as auditor of a limited liability company,
the auditor becomes prohibited from acting under Regulation 16, 17 or 18,
the auditor must immediately –
(a) resign from office; and
(b) in accordance with
Regulation 13(9), (10)(a) and (11), give written notice to the limited
liability company that the auditor has resigned by reason of lack of
independence.
(2) An
auditor and each officer of the auditor in default commits an offence and is
liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment if the auditor –
(a) fails to resign from
office when required to do so under paragraph (1)(a); or
(b) fails to give the notice
required to be given under paragraph (1)(b).
(3) In
proceedings against an auditor or an officer for an offence mentioned in
paragraph (2) it is a defence for the auditor or officer to show that the
auditor or officer did not know and had no reason to believe that the auditor
was, or had become, prohibited from acting as an auditor of the limited
liability company under Regulation 16, 17 or 18.
20 Effect of appointment of
a partnership
(1) This
Regulation applies where a partnership constituted under the law of Jersey or
of a jurisdiction in which a partnership is not a legal person is under this
Part appointed as the auditor of a limited liability company.
(2) Unless
a contrary intention appears, the appointment is an appointment of the
partnership as such and not of the partners.
(3) If
the partnership ceases, the appointment is to be treated as extending to –
(a) any appropriate
partnership that succeeds to the practice of the partnership; or
(b) any other appropriate
person who succeeds to the practice having previously carried it on in
partnership.
(4) For
the purposes of paragraph (3) –
(a) a partnership is to be
regarded as succeeding to the practice of another partnership only if the members
of the successor partnership are substantially the same as those of the former
partnership; and
(b) a partnership or other
person is to be regarded as succeeding to the practice of a partnership only if
the partnership or person succeeds to the whole or substantially the whole of
the business of the former partnership.
(5) If
the partnership ceases and the appointment is not treated under
paragraph (3) as extending to any partnership or other person, the
appointment may, with the approval of the limited liability company in respect
of which the partnership is auditor, be treated as extending to an appropriate
partnership, or other appropriate person, who succeeds to –
(a) the business of the
former partnership; or
(b) such part of that
business as is agreed by the limited liability company by LLC consent to be
treated as comprising the appointment.
(6) For
the purposes of this Regulation, a partnership or other person is “appropriate”
if the partnership or person –
(a) is an auditor; and
(b) is not prohibited under Regulation 16,
17 or 18 from acting as auditor of the limited liability company.
21 Exemption from liability for damages
(1) A
person to whom this Regulation applies is not liable in damages for anything
done or omitted to be done in the discharge or purported discharge of functions
to which this Regulation applies.
(2) This
Regulation applies to the following persons –
(a) a recognised professional
body;
(b) an officer or employee of
a recognised professional body; and
(c) a member of the governing
body or a member of a committee of a recognised professional body.
(3) This
Regulation applies to the functions of a recognised professional body so far as
relating to, or to matters arising out of, any of the following –
(a) the rules, practices,
powers and arrangements of the body;
(b) the obligations to
promote and maintain high standards of integrity in the conduct of audit work;
(c) the obligations imposed
on the body by or under this Part.
(4) Paragraph (1)
does not apply –
(a) if the act or omission is
shown to have been in bad faith; or
(b) so as to prevent an award of damages in
respect of the act or omission on the ground that it was unlawful as a result
of Article 7(1) of the Human Rights (Jersey) Law 2000 (acts of public authorities unlawful if incompatible
with Convention rights).
22 Matters to be notified to the Commission
(1) The
Commission may require a recognised professional body –
(a) to notify the Commission
immediately of the occurrence of events that the Commission may specify in
writing and to give the Commission any information in respect of those events
as is so specified; and
(b) to give the Commission,
at the times or in respect of the periods that the Commission may specify in
writing, any information as is specified.
(2) The
notices and information required to be given must be those that the Commission
may reasonably require for the exercise of the Commission’s functions under this
Part.
(3) The
Commission may require information given under this Regulation to be given in a
specified form or verified in a specified manner.
(4) A
notice or information required to be given under this Regulation must be given
in writing unless the Commission specifies or approves some other manner.
23 Commission may require auditors to give information
(1) The
Commission may, by written notice, require an auditor to give the Commission
any information that the Commission may reasonably require for the exercise of
its functions under this Part.
(2) The
Commission may require information given under this Regulation to be given in a
specified form or verified in a specified manner.
(3) Any
information required to be given under this Regulation must be given in writing
unless the Commission specifies or approves some other manner.
(4) An auditor and each officer of that auditor, commits an
offence and is liable toa fine of level 3 on the standard scale if the auditor
fails, within a reasonable time, to comply with a requirement made by the
Commission under this Regulation.
(5) An auditor and each officer of that
auditor, commits an offence and is liable to 2 years imprisonment or a fine, or
both if the auditor in purported compliance with
such a requirement, knowingly or recklessly provides information that is false
or misleading in a material particular.
24 Delegation of the Commission’s powers and duties
(1) The
Minister may, on the recommendation of the Commission, make an Order under this
Regulation that enables the powers and duties of the Commission under
Regulations 22 and 23 to be exercised or carried out by a body designated
by the Order to the extent specified in the Order.
(2) That
body may be either –
(a) a body corporate or
limited liability company established by the Order; or
(b) a body (whether a body
corporate or an unincorporated association) that is already in existence either
in Jersey or elsewhere.
(3) The
Order has the effect of transferring to the body designated by it all the
powers and duties of the Commission under Regulations 22 and 23, subject
to any exceptions and reservations specified in the Order.
(4) The
Order may confer on the body designated by it other powers and duties
supplementary or incidental to those transferred that appear to the Minister to
be appropriate.
(5) During
the time the powers and duties of the Commission are transferred by an Order
made under this Regulation to a body designated in the Order –
(a) in the case of any
transferred powers of the Commission, the Commission cannot exercise them
concurrently with the body; and
(b) in the case of any
transferred duties of the Commission, the obligation to carry them out rests
with the body and not with the Commission.
(6) The
Minister must not make an Order under this Regulation transferring powers or
duties of the Commission to an existing body unless it appears to the Minister
that –
(a) the body is able and
willing to exercise the powers or to carry out the duties that would be
transferred by the Order; and
(b) the body has arrangements
in place relating to the exercise of the powers or to the carrying out of the
duties that are likely to ensure that the conditions in paragraph (7) are
met.
(7) The
conditions are –
(a) that the powers and
duties in question will be exercised or carried out effectively; and
(b) where the Order is to
contain any requirements or other provisions specified in paragraph (8),
that those powers and duties will be exercised or carried out in accordance
with any such requirements or provisions.
(8) The
Order may contain requirements or other provisions relating to the exercise of
the powers or the carrying out of the duties by the designated body that appear
to the Minister to be appropriate.
(9) Those
provisions may include provisions providing for the designated body to publish
and charge fees for exercising the powers or carrying out the duties delegated
to it under the Order.
25 Confidentiality
(1) This
Regulation applies to information (in whatever form) –
(a) that relates to –
(i) the private affairs of an individual, or
(ii) any particular business;
and
(b) that is provided to a
body or person to which this Regulation applies in connection with the exercise
of its functions under this Part.
(2) This
Regulation applies to –
(a) a recognised professional
body;
(b) the Commission; and
(c) the registrar.
(3) Except
as provided by paragraphs (4), (6) and (7), the information must not,
without the consent of the individual or the person for the time being carrying
on the business, be disclosed –
(a) during the lifetime of
the individual; or
(b) so long as the business
continues to be carried on.
(4) The
information may be disclosed to a person or body mentioned in
paragraph (5) to enable the person or body to carry out the functions of
the person or body.
(5) The
persons and bodies are –
(a) a recognised professional
body;
(b) the Commission;
(c) the registrar;
(d) any other authority, body
or person having responsibility for the qualification, supervision or
regulation of auditors, whether situated in Jersey or elsewhere;
(e) an organisation that, in
a jurisdiction outside Jersey, carries out in that jurisdiction any function
that is the same as, or similar to, a function that is carried out in Jersey by
the Commission; or
(f) an officer or agent of a
person or body mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (d).
(6) This
Regulation does not prohibit the disclosure of information –
(a) when it is to assist a recognised
professional body, the Commission or the registrar to carry out its duties under
this Part;
(b) that is to be used to
assist an inspector appointed under Part 9;
(c) to a limited liability
company, if it relates to an audit of the limited liability company’s accounts;
(d) that may be or is to be
used for the purposes of criminal proceedings;
(e) that is a summary or
collection of information that does not enable any person to whom the
information relates to be identified; or
(f) that may be published
under Regulation 15(11) or (18).
(7) This
Regulation does not prohibit the disclosure of information that is or has been
available to the public from any other source.
(8) Nothing
in this Regulation authorises the making of a disclosure in contravention of
the Data Protection (Jersey)
Law 2018.
(9) A
person who discloses information in contravention of this Regulation commits an
offence and is liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment, unless the
person –
(a) did not know, and had no
reason to suspect, that the information had been provided as mentioned in
paragraph (1); or
(b) took all reasonable steps
and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
26 Application of Part 10
(1) In
Part 10, references to the affairs of a limited liability company are to be
taken to include references to –
(a) the limited liability company’s
compliance with the accounting principles applicable to the limited liability company
under this Part; and
(b) any aspect of its
accounts or their auditing that raises or appears to raise important issues
affecting the public interest.
(2) If
a report mentioned in Regulation 112(1) is in respect of any aspect of the
affairs of a limited liability company mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) or
(b), the Minister or the Commission may, in addition to the persons mentioned
in Regulation 112(3), forward a copy of the report to any of the
following –
(a) any relevant recognised
professional body;
(b) the registrar.
(3) For
the purposes of, or as a consequence of, an investigation of a limited
liability company being carried out or that has been carried out under
Part 10, the Commission or the Minister may direct a limited liability
company –
(a) to have its accounts
re-audited; or
(b) to restate its accounts
in respect of a specified period by a specified date and, if further directed
to do so, to have them audited.
(4) If
a limited liability company fails to comply with a direction given under
paragraph (3) the limited liability company and each officer of the limited
liability company in default commits an offence and is liable to a fine and 2
years imprisonment.
(5) Where
this Regulation applies –
(a) Regulation 105(2) is
taken to include the Minister and the Commission; and
(b) Regulation 105(3) must
not apply to an application made by the Minister or by the Commission.
27 Disapplication of audit requirement
(1) A
limited liability company that has circulated a prospectus may apply to the
Commission to disapply the requirement to appoint an auditor to examine and
report on accounts of the limited liability company in relation to a financial
period under Regulation 11(1) if no interests in the limited liability
company were issued to any person other than a person connected with the
establishment or promotion of the limited liability company in that financial
period and any preceding financial period, or if the Commission otherwise
consents.
(2) An
application to the Commission made under paragraph (1) must be made in the
form specified by the Commission.
(3) An
application made under paragraph (1) –
(a) must be made by LLC
consent of all the members of the limited liability company and a printed copy
of that LLC consent must –
(i) be embodied in or annexed to every copy of
the LLC agreement issued after the LLC consent is given,
(ii) be forwarded to a member
of the limited liability company at the member’s request on payment of a sum
(if any), not exceeding the published maximum, that the limited liability company
may require, and
(iii) within 21 days after
LLC consent is given, be delivered to the registrar and be recorded by the
registrar; and
(b) has the effect of
disapplying the requirement to appoint an auditor to examine and report on
accounts of the limited liability company under Regulation 11(1) from the
date that it is delivered to the registrar under sub-paragraph (a)(iii).
PART 3
Prospectuses
28 Application
(1) Except
as provided by paragraph (2), this Part applies to a prospectus relating
to securities in a limited liability company.
(2) This
Part does not apply to the issue of a document relating to a scheme intended to
facilitate or to encourage the holding of securities in a limited liability
company by or for the benefit of –
(a) managers or former managers
of the limited liability company, the limited liability company’s subsidiary or
holding limited liability company, or a subsidiary of the limited liability
company’s holding limited liability company;
(b) the bona fide employees
or former employees of the limited liability company, the limited liability
company’s subsidiary or holding limited liability company or a subsidiary of
the limited liability company’s holding limited liability company; or
(c) the spouses, civil
partners, surviving spouses, surviving civil partners, minor children or minor
step-children of such members or employees or former members or former employees.
29 Control of borrowing
The provisions of this Part are in addition to and do not derogate from
the requirements of the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958.
30 Circulation of prospectus
(1) A
limited liability company may not circulate a prospectus unless it has
appointed a manager.
(2) Subject
to paragraph (4), unless the conditions in paragraph (3) are complied
with –
(a) a person must not
circulate a prospectus in Jersey;
(b) a limited liability company
must not circulate a prospectus outside Jersey; and
(c) a limited liability company
must not procure the circulation of a prospectus outside Jersey.
(3) The
conditions are –
(a) the prospectus contains
the information specified in Part 1 of the Schedule;
(b) the prospectus includes
the statements specified in Part 2 of the Schedule;
(c) there has been delivered
to the registrar –
(i) a copy of the prospectus, signed by or on
behalf of all of the managers of the limited liability company,
(ii) a signed copy of any
report included in or attached to the prospectus, and
(iii) any other particulars
that the registrar may require; and
(d) the registrar has given
consent to the circulation of the prospectus.
(4) The
registrar may give consent to the circulation of a prospectus that does not
comply in every respect with the conditions in paragraph (3) if the
registrar is satisfied that the deviation from those requirements does not
affect the substance of the prospectus and is not calculated to mislead.
31 Compensation for
misleading statements in prospectus
(1) A
person who acquires or agrees to acquire securities in a limited liability
company to which a prospectus relates and suffers a loss in respect of the securities
as a result of the inclusion in the prospectus of a statement of a material
fact which is untrue or misleading, or the omission from it of the statement of
a material fact, is, subject to Regulation 32, entitled to
compensation –
(a) in the case of securities
offered for subscription, from the limited liability company issuing the securities
and from each person who was a manager of it when the prospectus was
circulated;
(b) in the case of securities
offered otherwise than for subscription, from the person making the offer and,
where that person is a limited liability company or a body corporate, from each
person who was a manager or a director of it when the prospectus was
circulated;
(c) from each person who is
stated in the prospectus as accepting responsibility for the prospectus, or any
part of it, but, in that case, only in respect of a statement made in or
omitted from that part; and
(d) from each person who has
authorised the contents of, or any part of, the prospectus.
(2) Nothing
in this Regulation makes a person responsible by reason only of giving advice
as to the contents of a prospectus in a professional capacity.
(3) This
Regulation does not affect any liability which any person may incur apart from
this Regulation.
(4) This
Regulation applies only to a prospectus first circulated after this Regulation
comes into force.
32 Exemption from liability
to pay compensation
A person is not liable
under Regulation 31 if the person satisfies the Court –
(a) that the prospectus was
circulated without the person’s consent;
(b) that, having made such
enquiries (if any) as were reasonable, from the circulation of the prospectus
until the security was acquired, the person reasonably believed that the
statement was true and not misleading or that the matter omitted was properly
omitted;
(c) that, after the
circulation of the prospectus and before the security was acquired the person,
on becoming aware of the untrue or misleading statement or of the omission of
the statement of a material fact, took reasonable steps to secure that a
correction was brought to the notice of persons likely to acquire the security;
(d) in the case of a loss
caused by a statement purporting to be made by a person whose qualifications
give authority to a statement made by the person which was included in the
prospectus with the person’s consent, that when the prospectus was circulated
the person reasonably believed that the person purporting to make the statement
was competent to do so and had consented to its inclusion in the prospectus; or
(e) that the person suffering
the loss acquired or agreed to acquire the security knowing that the statement
was untrue or misleading or that the matter in question was omitted.
33 Recovery of compensation
(1) A
person is not prohibited from obtaining compensation from a limited liability
company by reason only of holding or having held a security in the limited
liability company or any right to apply for a security in the limited liability
company or to be included in the limited liability company’s register of
members.
(2) A
sum due from a limited liability company to a person who has acquired or agreed
to acquire a security in the limited liability company, being a sum due as
compensation for loss suffered by the person in respect of the security, is to be
treated (whether or not the limited liability company is being wound up and
whether the sum is due under Regulation 31 or otherwise) as a sum due to
the person otherwise than in the person’s role as a member.
34 Criminal liability in
relation to prospectuses
If a prospectus is
circulated with a material statement in it which is untrue or misleading or
with the omission from it of the statement of a material fact, any person who
authorised the circulation of the prospectus commits an offence and is liable
to a fine and 10 years imprisonment, unless the person satisfies the Court that –
(a) the
person reasonably believed, when the prospectus was circulated, that the
statement was true and not misleading; or
(b) that
the matter omitted was properly omitted.
35 Criminal liability of
officers
A person who fails to
comply with any provision of this Part and, where that person is a body
corporate or a body with separate legal personality, every officer of that body
corporate or body with separate legal personality which is in default, commits
an offence.
PART 4
Takeovers
36 Takeover offers
(1) In
this Part, “a takeover offer” means an offer to acquire all the LLC interests,
or all the LLC interests of any class, classes or series, in a limited
liability company (other than LLC interests which at the date of the offer are
already held by the offeror), being an offer on terms which are the same in
relation to all the LLC interests to which the offer relates or, where those
LLC interests include LLC interests of different classes or series, in relation
to all the LLC interests of each class or series.
(2) In
paragraph (1), “LLC interests” means LLC interests that have been allotted
on the date of the offer.
(3) A
takeover offer may include among the LLC interests to which it relates all or
any LLC interests that are allotted after the date of the offer but before a
date specified in or determined in accordance with the terms of the offer.
(4) An
offer is not prevented from being a takeover offer by reason of not being made
to members whose registered address is not in Jersey if –
(a) the offer was not made to
those members in order not to contravene the law of a country or territory
outside Jersey; and
(b) either –
(i) the offer is published in the Jersey
Gazette, or
(ii) a document containing
the terms of the offer can be inspected, or a copy of it obtained, at a place
in Jersey or on a website, and a notice is published in the Jersey Gazette
specifying the address of that place or website.
(5) Where
an offer is made to acquire LLC interests in a limited liability company and
there are persons for whom, by reason of the law of a country or territory
outside Jersey, it is impossible to accept the offer, or more difficult to do
so, that does not prevent the offer from being a takeover offer.
(6) It
is not to be inferred –
(a) that an offer which is
not made to every holder of LLC interests, or every holder of LLC interests of
any class, classes or series, in the limited liability company cannot be a
takeover offer unless the requirements of paragraph (4) are met; or
(b) that an offer which is
impossible, or more difficult, for certain persons to accept cannot be a
takeover offer unless the reason for the impossibility or difficulty is the one
mentioned in paragraph (5).
(7) The
terms offered in relation to any LLC interests must for the purposes of this
Regulation be treated as being the same in relation to all the LLC interests
or, as the case may be, all the LLC interests of a class, classes or series to
which the offer relates notwithstanding any variation permitted by paragraph (8).
(8) A
variation is permitted by this paragraph where –
(a) the law of a country or
territory outside Jersey precludes the acceptance of an offer in the form or
any of the forms specified or precludes it except after compliance by the
offeror with conditions with which the offeror is unable to comply or which the
offeror regards as unduly onerous; and
(b) the variation is such
that the persons by whom the acceptance of an offer in that form is precluded
are able to accept an offer otherwise than in that form but of substantially
equivalent value.
(9) The
reference in paragraph (1) to LLC interests already held by the offeror
includes a reference to LLC interests which the offeror has contracted to
acquire but that is not to be construed as including LLC interests which are
the subject of a contract binding the holder to accept the offer when it is
made, being a contract entered into by the holder for nothing other than a
promise by the offeror to make the offer.
(10) Where
the terms of an offer make provision for their revision and for acceptances on
the previous terms to be treated as acceptances on the revised terms, the
revision is not regarded for the purposes of this Part as the making of a fresh
offer and references in this Part to the date of the offer must accordingly be
construed as references to the date on which the original offer was made.
(11) In
this Part, “offeror” means, subject to Regulation 42, the person making a
takeover offer and “limited liability company” means the limited liability
company whose LLC interests are the subject of the offer.
37 Right of offeror to buy
out minority LLC interest holders
(1) In
a case in which a takeover offer does not relate to LLC interests of different
classes or series, the offeror may give notice, to the holder of any LLC
interests to which the offer relates which the offeror has not acquired or
contracted to acquire, that the offeror desires to acquire those LLC interests if
the condition in paragraph (2) is met.
(2) The
condition is that the offeror has, by virtue of acceptances of the offer,
acquired or contracted to acquire not less than 9/10ths in value of the LLC
interests to which the offer relates.
(3) In
a case in which a takeover offer relates to LLC interests of different classes
or series, the offeror may give notice to the holder of any LLC interests of a class
or series which the offeror has not acquired or contracted to acquire, that the
offeror desires to acquire those LLC interests if the condition in paragraph (4)
is met.
(4) The
condition is that the offeror has, by virtue of acceptances of the offer,
acquired or contracted to acquire to not less than 9/10ths in value of the LLC
interests of that class or series to which the offer relates.
(5) An
offeror must not give notice under paragraph (1) or (3) unless –
(a) before the end of the period of 4 months beginning with the
date of the offer, the offeror has acquired or contracted to acquire the LLC
interests necessary to satisfy the minimum specified in paragraph (2) or
(4); and
(b) no more than 2 months have passed after the date on which the
offeror acquired or contracted to acquire the LLC interests necessary to
satisfy that minimum.
(6) When
the offeror gives the first notice in relation to an offer, the offeror must
send a copy of it to the limited liability company together with a declaration
by the offeror that the conditions for the giving of the notice are satisfied.
(7) Where
the offeror is a body corporate or a limited liability company the declaration must
be signed by a director or manager.
(8) Any
person who fails to send a copy of a notice or a declaration as required by
paragraph (6) or makes such a declaration for the purposes of that
paragraph knowing it to be false or without having reasonable grounds for
believing it to be true commits an offence and is liable to 2 years imprisonment or a fine, or both.
(9) If
a person is charged with any offence for failing to send a copy of a notice as
required by paragraph (6) it is a defence for the person to prove that the
person took reasonable steps for securing compliance with that paragraph.
(10) Where
during the period within which a takeover offer can be accepted the offeror
acquires or contracts to acquire any of the LLC interests to which the offer
relates otherwise than by virtue of acceptances of the offer, if –
(a) the value for which they
are acquired or contracted to be acquired (the “acquisition value”) does not at that time exceed the value which is receivable by an
acceptor under the terms of the offer; or
(b) the terms of the offer are
subsequently revised so that when the revision is announced the acquisition
value, at the time mentioned in sub-paragraph (a), no longer exceeds the
value which is receivable by an acceptor under those terms,
the offeror is treated for
the purposes of this Regulation as having acquired or contracted to acquire
those LLC interests by virtue of acceptances of the offer and in any other case
those LLC interests are treated as excluded from those to which the offer
relates.
38 Effect of notice under
Regulation 37
(1) Subject
to Regulstion 41, this Regulation has effect where a notice is given in respect
of any LLC interests under Regulation 37.
(2) The
offeror is entitled and bound to acquire those LLC interests on the terms of the
offer.
(3) Where
the terms of an offer give the holder of any LLC interests a choice of payment
for the holder’s LLC interests, the notice must give particulars of the choice
and state –
(a) that the holder of the LLC
interests may within 6 weeks from the date of the notice indicate the
holder’s choice by a written communication sent to the offeror at an address
specified in the notice; and
(b) which payment specified
in the offer is to be taken as applying if the holder does not indicate a
choice.
(4) Paragraph (3)
applies whether or not any time limit or other conditions applicable to the
choice under the terms of the offer can still be complied with, and the payment
is taken to consist of an amount of cash payable by the offeror which at the
date of the notice is equivalent to the chosen payment if the payment chosen by
the holder of the LLC interests –
(a) is not cash and the
offeror is no longer able to make that payment; or
(b) was to have been made by
a third party who is no longer bound or able to make that payment.
(5) At
the end of 6 weeks from the date of the notice the offeror must –
(a) send a copy of the notice
to the limited liability company; and
(b) make payment to the limited
liability company for the LLC interests to which the notice relates.
(6) The
copy of the notice sent to the limited liability company under paragraph (5)(a)
must be accompanied by an instrument of transfer executed on behalf of the LLC
interest holder by a person appointed by the offeror, and on receipt of that
instrument the limited liability company must register the offeror as the
holder of those LLC interests.
(7) Where
the payment referred to in paragraph (5)(b) is to be made in LLC interests,
shares or securities to be allotted or issued by the offeror, the reference in
that paragraph to the making of payment is construed as a reference to the
allotment or issue of the LLC interests, shares or securities to the limited
liability company.
(8) Any
sum received by a limited liability company under paragraph (5)(b), and
any other payment received under that paragraph must be held by the limited
liability company on trust for the person entitled to the LLC interests in
respect of which the sum or other payment was received.
(9) Any
sum received by a limited liability company under paragraph (5)(b) and any
distribution or other sum accruing from any other payment received by a limited
liability company under that paragraph, must be paid into a separate bank
account, being an account the balance on which bears interest at an appropriate
rate and can be withdrawn by such notice (if any) as is appropriate.
(10) Where
after reasonable enquiry made at reasonable intervals the person entitled to
any sum or other payment held on trust under paragraph (8) cannot be found
and 10 years have elapsed since the sum or other payment was received or
the limited liability company is wound up, the sum or other payment (together
with any interest, dividend or other benefit that has accrued from it) must be
paid to the Viscount.
(11) The
expenses of any enquiry under paragraph (10) may be defrayed out of the
money or other property held on trust for the person or persons to whom the
enquiry relates.
39 Right of minority LLC
interest holder to be bought out by offeror
(1) The
holder of any LLC interests to which an offer relates who has not accepted the
offer may by a written communication addressed to the offeror require the
offeror to acquire those LLC interests if –
(a) a takeover offer relates
to all the LLC interests in a limited liability company; and
(b) at any time before the
end of the period within which the offer can be accepted –
(i) the offeror has by virtue of acceptances
of the offer acquired or contracted to acquire some (but not all) of the LLC
interests to which the offer relates, and
(ii) those LLC interests (with
or without any other LLC interests in the limited liability company which the
offeror has acquired or contracted to acquire) amount to not less than 9/10ths
in value of all the LLC interests in the limited liability company.
(2) If
a takeover related to LLC interests of any class, classes or series, the holder
of any LLC interests of that class or series who has not accepted the offer may
by a written communication addressed to the offeror require the offeror to
acquire those LLC interests if at any time before the end of the period within
which the offer can be accepted –
(a) the offeror has by virtue
of acceptances of the offer acquired or contracted to acquire some (but not all)
of the LLC interests of any class or series to which the offer relates; and
(b) those LLC interests (with
or without any other LLC interests in the limited liability company which the
offeror has acquired or contracted to acquire) amount to not less than 9/10ths
in value of all the LLC interests of that class or series in the limited
liability company.
(3) No
later than one month of the time specified in paragraph (1) or(2) –
(a) the offeror must give any LLC interest holder who has not
accepted the offer notice of the rights that are exercisable by the LLC
interest holder under that paragraph, and
(b) if the notice is given before the end of the period mentioned in
that paragraph, it must state that the offer is still open for acceptance.
(4) A
notice under paragraph (3) may specify a period for the exercise of the
rights conferred by this Regulation and in that event the rights are not
exercisable after the end of that period, but the period must not end less than
3 months after the end of the period within which the offer can be
accepted.
(5) Paragraph (3)
does not apply if the offeror has given the LLC interest holder a notice in
respect of the LLC interests in question under Regulation 37.
(6) If
the offeror fails to comply with paragraph (3), the offeror and, if the
offeror is a company or a limited liability company, every officer of the
company or limited liability company who is in default or to whose neglect the
failure is attributable, commits an offence.
(7) If
an offeror other than a company or a limited liability company is charged with
an offence for failing to comply with paragraph (3), it is a defence for
the offeror to prove that the offeror took all reasonable steps for securing
compliance with that paragraph.
40 Effect of requirement
under Regulation 39
(1) Subject
to Regulation 41, this Regulation has effect where an LLC interest holder
exercises the LLC interest holder’s rights in respect of any LLC interests
under Regulation 39.
(2) The
offeror is entitled and bound to acquire those LLC interests on the terms of
the offer or on such other terms as may be agreed.
(3) Where
the terms of an offer are such as to give the holder of LLC interests a choice
of payment for the holder’s LLC interests, the holder of the LLC interests may
indicate the LLC interest holder’s choice when requiring the offeror to acquire
them and the notice given to the holder under Regulation 39(3) –
(a) must give particulars of
the choice and of the rights conferred by this paragraph; and
(b) may state which payment
specified in the offer is to be taken as applying if the holder does not
indicate a a choice.
(4) Paragraph (3)
applies whether or not any time limit or other conditions applicable to the
choice under the terms of the offer can still be complied with, and the payment
is taken to consist of an amount of cash payable by the offeror which at the
date when the holder of the LLC interests requires the offeror to acquire them
is equivalent to the chosen payment if the payment chosen by the holder of the LLC
interests –
(a) is not cash and the
offeror is no longer able to make that payment; or
(b) was to have been made by
a third party who is no longer bound or able to make that payment.
41 Applications to the Court
(1) Where
a notice is given under Regulation 37 to the holder of any LLC interests
the Court may, on an application made by the LLC interest holder within 6 weeks
from the date on which the notice was given –
(a) order that the offeror is
not entitled and bound to acquire the LLC interests; or
(b) specify terms of
acquisition different from those of the offer.
(2) If
an application to the Court under paragraph (1) is pending at the end of
the period mentioned in Regulation 38(5) that paragraph does not have
effect until the application has been disposed of.
(3) Where
the holder of any LLC interests exercises the LLC interest holder’s rights
under Regulation 39 the Court may, on an application made by the LLC
interest holder or the offeror, order that the terms on which the offeror is
entitled and bound to acquire the LLC interests are as the Court thinks fit.
(4) No
order for costs or expenses must be made against an LLC interest holder making
an application under paragraph (1) or (3) unless the Court
considers –
(a) that the application was
unnecessary, improper or vexatious; or
(b) that there has been
unreasonable delay in making the application or unreasonable conduct on the LLC
interest holder’s part in conducting the proceedings on the application.
(5) Where
a takeover offer has not been accepted to the extent necessary for entitling
the offeror to give notices under Regulation 37(1) or (3), the Court may,
on the application of the offeror, make an order authorising the offeror to
give notices under that Regulation if satisfied –
(a) that the offeror has
after reasonable enquiry been unable to trace one or more of the persons
holding LLC interests to which the offer relates;
(b) that the LLC interests which
the offeror has acquired or contracted to acquire by virtue of acceptances of
the offer, together with the LLC interests held by the person or persons
mentioned in sub-paragraph (a), amount to not less than the minimum
specified in that Regulation; and
(c) that the terms offered
are fair and reasonable.
(6) The
Court must not make an order under paragraph (5) unless it considers that
it is just and equitable to do so having regard, in particular, to the number
of LLC interest holders who have been traced but who have not accepted the
offer.
42 Joint offers
(1) A
takeover offer may be made by 2 or more persons jointly and in that event this
Part has effect with the following modifications.
(2) The
conditions for the exercise of the rights conferred by Regulations 37 and 39
are satisfied by the joint offerors acquiring or contracting to acquire the
necessary LLC interests jointly (as respects acquisitions by virtue of
acceptances of the offer) and either jointly or separately (in other cases).
(3) Subject
to this Regulation, the rights and obligtions of the offeror under Regulations
37, 39 and 40 are respectively joint rights and joint and several obligations
of the joint offerors.
(4) It
is sufficient compliance with any provision of any Regulation requiring or
authorising a notice or other document to be given or sent by or to the joint
offerors that it is given or sent by or to any of them.
(5) In
Regulations 37, 38(7) and 40, references to the offeror are references to
the joint offerors or any of the offerors.
(6) In
Regulation 38(6), references to the offeror are references to the joint
offerors or such of them as they may determine.
(7) In
Regulation 38(4)(a) and 40(4)(a), references to the offeror being no
longer able to make the relevant payment are references to none of the joint
offerors being able to do so.
(8) In
Regulation 41 references to the offeror are to be construed as references
to the joint offerors except that any application under Regulation 41(3) or (5)
may be made by any of them and the reference in Regulation 41(5)(a) to the
offeror having been unable to trace one or more of the persons holding LLC
interests are to be construed as a reference to none of the offerors having
been able to do so.
43 Associates
(1) The
requirement in Regulation 36(1) that a takeover offer must extend to all
the LLC interests, or all the LLC interests of any class, classes or series, in
a limited liability company is to be regarded as satisfied despite that the
offer does not extend to LLC interests which associates of the offeror hold or
have contracted to acquire; and , subject to paragraph (2), LLC interests which
any such associate holds or has contracted to acquire, whether at the time when
the offer is made or subsequently, are disregarded for the purposes of any
reference in this Part to the LLC interests to which a takeover offer relates.
(2) If
during the period within which a takeover offer can be accepted any associate of
the offeror acquires or contracts to acquire any of the LLC interests to which
the offer relates, the associate must be treated for the purpose of that Regulation
as LLC interests to which the offer relates.
(3) In
Regulation 39(1)(b) and (2)(b), the reference to LLC interests which the
offeror has acquired or contracted to acquire include a reference to LLC
interests which any associate of the offeror has acquired or contracted to
acquire.
(4) In
this Regulation, “associate”, in relation to an offeror, means –
(a) a nominee of the offeror;
(b) a holding company or holding
limited liability company, subsidiary or fellow subsidiary of the offeror or a
nominee of such a holding company or holding limited liability company,
subsidiary or fellow subsidiary; or
(c) a body corporate or
limited liability company in which the offeror is substantially interested.
(5) For
the purposes of paragraph (4)(b) a body corporate or limited liability company
is a fellow subsidiary of another body corporate or limited liability company
if both are subsidiaries of the same body corporate or limited liability
company but neither is a subsidiary of the other.
(6) For
the purposes of paragraph (4)(c) an offeror has a substantial interest in
a body corporate or limited liability company if –
(a) that body or its
directors or managers are accustomed to act in accordance with the offeror’s
directions or instructions; or
(b) the offeror is entitled
to exercise or control the exercise of one-third or more of the voting power at
meetings of that body.
(7) Where
the offeror is an individual, the offeror’s associates also include the spouse
or civil partner and any minor child or step-child of the offeror.
44 Convertible securities
(1) For
the purposes of this Part, securities of a limited liability company are
treated as LLC interests in the limited liability company if they are
convertible into or entitle the holder to subscribe for such LLC interests and
references to the holder of LLC interests or an LLC interest holder are construed
accordingly.
(2) Paragraph (1)
is not to be construed as requiring any securities to be treated –
(a) as LLC interests of the
same class or series as those into which they are convertible or for which the
holder is entitled to subscribe; or
(b) as LLC interests of the
same class or series as other securities by reason only that the LLC interests
into which they are convertible or for which the holder is entitled to
subscribe are of the same class or series.
PART 5
Compromises
and Arrangements
45 Power of limited
liability company to compromise or arrange with creditors and members
(1) Where
a compromise or arrangement is proposed between a limited liability company and
its creditors, or a class of them, or between the limited liability company and
its members, or a class or series of them, the Court may on the application of
the limited liability company or a creditor or member of it or, in the case of
a limited liability company being wound up, of the liquidator, order a meeting
of the creditors or class of creditors, or of the members of the limited
liability company or class or series of members (as the case may be), to be
called in a manner the Court directs.
(2) Paragraph (3)
applies if a compromise or arrangement is agreed by a majority, present and
voting either in person or by proxy at the meeting, representing –
(a) 3/4ths in value of the
creditors or class of creditors; or
(b) 3/4ths of the voting
rights of the members or class or series of members.
(3) The
compromise or arrangement, if sanctioned by order of the Court, is binding
on –
(a) all creditors or the
class of creditors; or
(b) all the members or class
or series of members.
(4) In
the case of a limited liability company in the course of being wound up, a
compromise or arrangement sanctioned by order of the Court is also binding on
the liquidator and contributories of the limited liability company.
(5) An
order by the Court under paragraph (3) has no effect until the relevant act
of court has been delivered to the registrar for registration, and the relevant
act of court must be –
(a) annexed to every copy of
the limited liability company’s LLC agreement issued after the order has been
made; or
(b) held at the registered
office if there is no written LLC agreement.
(6) A
limited liability company that fails to comply with paragraph (5), commits
an offence and is liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.
46 Information as to
compromise or arrangement to be circulated
(1) This
Regulation applies where a meeting of creditors or a class of creditors, or of
members or a class or series of members, is called under Regulation 45.
(2) With
the notice calling the meeting which is given to a creditor or member there
must be included a statement explaining the effect of the compromise or
arrangement and in particular stating any material interests of the managers of
the limited liability company (whether as managers or as creditors or as members
of the limited liability company or otherwise) and the effect on those
interests of the compromise or arrangement, in so far as it is different from
the effect on the same interests of other persons.
(3) In
every notice calling the meeting which is given by advertisement there must be
included either a statement mentioned in paragraph (2) or a notification
of the place at which, and the manner in which, creditors or members entitled
to attend the meeting may obtain copies of the statement.
(4) Where
the compromise or arrangement affects the rights of debenture holders of the
limited liability company, the statement must give the same explanation as
respects the trustees of a deed for securing the issue of the debentures as it
is required to give as respects the limited liability company’s managers.
(5) Where
a notice given by advertisement includes a notification that copies of a
statement explaining the effect of the compromise or arrangement proposed can
be obtained by creditors or members entitled to attend the meeting, every such
creditor or member must, on making application in the manner indicated by the
notice, be furnished by the limited liability company free of charge with a
copy of the statement.
(6) If
a limited liability company fails to comply with a requirement of this
Regulation the limited liability company and every manager of it who is in
default commits an offence and is liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard
scale.
(7) For
purpose of paragraph (6), a trustee of a deed for securing the issue of
debentures of the limited liability company is deemed a manager of it
(8) A
person is not liable under paragraph (6) if the person shows that the default
was due to the refusal of another person, being a manager or trustee for
debenture holders, to supply the necessary particulars of the person’s
interests.
(9) A
manager of the limited liability company, and a trustee for its debenture
holders, must give notice to the limited liability company of such matters relating
to the person as may be necessary for the purposes of this Regulation, and a
person who defaults in complying with this paragraph commits an offence and is
liable to to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.
47 Provisions for
facilitating limited liability company reconstruction or amalgamation
(1) This
Regulation applies if an application is made to the Court under Regulation 45
for the sanctioning of a compromise or arrangement proposed between a limited
liability company and any persons mentioned in that Regulation.
(2) The
Court may make provision for all or any of the matters set out in paragraph (3)
if it is shown –
(a) that the compromise or
arrangement has been proposed for the purposes of, or in connection with, a
scheme for the reconstruction of one or more limited liability companies, or
the amalgamation of 2 or more limited liability companies or bodies corporate;
and
(b) that under the scheme the
whole or part of the undertaking or the property of a limited liability company
concerned in the scheme (“a transferor limited liability company”) is to be
transferred to another body corporate or limited liability company (“the
transferee body”).
(3) The
matters are –
(a) the transfer to the
transferee body of the whole or part of the undertaking and of the property or
liabilities of a transferor limited liability company;
(b) the allotting or
appropriation by the transferee body of LLC interests, shares, debentures,
policies or other similar interests in the transferee body which under the
compromise or arrangement are to be allotted or appropriated by the transferor
limited liability company to or for any person;
(c) the continuation by or
against the transferee body of legal proceedings pending by or against a
transferor limited liability company;
(d) the dissolution, without
winding up, of a transferor limited liability company;
(e) the provision to be made
for persons who, within a time and in a manner which the Court directs, dissent
from the compromise or arrangement; and
(f) any incidental,
consequential and supplemental matters that are necessary to secure that the
reconstruction or amalgamation is fully and effectively carried out.
(4) If
an order of the Court under this Regulation provides for the transfer of
property or liabilities, then –
(a) that property is by
virtue of the order transferred to, and vests in, the transferee body;
(b) those liabilities are, by
virtue of the order, transferred to and become liabilities of that transferee
body; and
(c) if the order so directs,
property vests freed from any hypothec, security interest or other charge which
is, by virtue of the compromise or arrangement, to cease to have effect.
(5) If
an order of the Court is made under this Regulation, every limited liability
company in relation to which the order is made must deliver the relevant act of
court to the registrar for registration within 14 days after the making of
the order, and in the event of failure to comply with this paragraph, the
limited liability company commits an offence and is liable to a fine of level 3
on the standard scale and a fine of level 2 on the standard scale for each day
during which the offence continues.
PART 6
Mergers
48 Interpretation of Part 6
(1) In
this Part –
“merged body” means the
body resulting from a merger under Regulation 50 (and “merged limited
liability company” is to be read accordingly);
“merger agreement” means
an agreement under Regulation 51;
“merging body” means a
body that is seeking to merge with another body under this Part (and “merging
limited liability company” is to be read accordingly);
“new body” means a merged
body that is new within the meaning of Regulation 50(2) (and “new limited
liability company” is to be read accordingly);
“overseas body” means a
body registered in a jurisdiction outside Jersey;
“survivor body” means a
merging body that becomes a merged body as provided for in Regulation 50(1)(a)
(and “survivor limited liability company” is to be read accordingly).
(2) Nothing
in this Part is to be read as preventing –
(a) more than one person from
signing the same certificate under this Part; or
(b) more than one certificate
signed under this Part from being included in the same document.
(3) References
to a certificate are to be construed in accordance with paragraph (2).
49 Bodies eligible to merge
Subject to the
requirements of this Part, a limited liability company may merge with another
limited liability company or any of the following bodies –
(a) a body, other than a
limited liability company, that is incorporated or registered in Jersey under
an enactment under which it is permitted to merge with a limited liability
company;
(b) an overseas body
that –
(i) is a limited liability body or a body
corporate that is not a cell company or cell and does not have unlimited shares
or guarantor members, and
(ii) to the reasonable
satisfaction of the Commission, is not prohibited, under the law of the
jurisdiction in which it is incorporated or registered, from merging with a
limited liability company.
50 Bodies eligible to be
merged bodies
(1) The
result of a merger under this Part is that the merging bodies continue as a
single merged body, and that body is either –
(a) one of the merging
bodies; or
(b) a new body that –
(i) is a limited liability company,
(ii) is incorporated or
registered in Jersey under the same enactment as one of the merging bodies, or
(iii) is an overseas body that
is incorporated or registered under the law of the same jurisdiction as one of
the merging bodies and to which Regulation 49(b) applies.
(2) For
the purpose of this Part, a merged body is new if it is created by the merger
from which it results.
51 Merger agreement
(1) Each
limited liability company proposing to merge must, in order to do so, enter
into an agreement in writing (a “merger agreement”) with each body with which
it proposes to merge.
(2) The
merger agreement must state the terms and means of effecting the merger and, in
particular, the following information –
(a) details of the proposed
merged body, including –
(i) whether it is to be a survivor body or a
new body,
(ii) whether it is to be a
limited liability company, an overseas body or some other body, and
(iii) the names and addresses
of the persons proposed to be its managers, or, if a manager is not to be
appointed, its members;
(b) details of any
arrangements necessary to complete the merger and to provide for the management
of the merged body;
(c) details of any payment,
other than of a kind described in paragraph (3), proposed to be made to a
member or manager of a merging limited liability company or to a person having
a similar relationship to a merging body that is not a limited liability
company; and
(d) in relation to any LLC
interests in a merging limited liability company, the information specified in paragraph (3).
(3) The
information referred to in paragraph (2)(d) is –
(a) if the LLC interests and
other securities are to be converted into securities of the merged body, the
manner in which that conversion is to be done; or
(b) otherwise, what the
holders are to receive instead and the manner in which and the time at which
they are to receive it.
(4) If
the merged body is to be a new limited liability company, the merger agreement
must also set out –
(a) the proposed LLC
agreement of the merged limited liability company; and
(b) a draft of any other
document or information that would be required under the Law to be delivered to
the registrar if the merged limited liability company were formed under the Law
otherwise than by merger.
(5) If
the merged body is to be a survivor limited liability company, the merger
agreement must also state –
(a) whether any amendments to
the LLC agreement are proposed to take effect on the merger, with details of
those amendments; and
(b) whether it is proposed
that, on the merger, any person will become, or cease to be a member or manager
of the limited liability company, with the name and address of each such
person.
(6) A
merger agreement may provide that, at any time before the completion of the
merger, the agreement may be terminated by –
(a) any one or more of the
merging limited liability companies, even if LLC consent has been granted by
the members of all or any of those limited liability companies; or
(b) any of the merging bodies
that are not limited liability companies.
(7) If
an agreement is terminated under a provision included in it under paragraph (6),
nothing in this Part requires or authorises any further steps to be taken to
complete the merger.
52 LLC consents and
certificates
(1) Before
notice is given of a meeting of a merging limited liability company to approve
a merger agreement under Regulation 53, or to approve a merger under Regulation 54,
the managers of that limited liability company must give an LLC consent stating
that, in the opinion of the managers, the merger is in the best interests of
the limited liability company.
(2) For
the purposes of this Regulation a solvency statement is a statement that,
having made full inquiry into the affairs of the limited liability company, the
person making the statement reasonably believes that the limited liability
company is, and will remain until the merger is completed, able to discharge
its liabilities as they fall due.
(3) If
the managers giving the LLC consent are satisfied on reasonable grounds that
they can properly make a solvency statement in respect of the limited liability
company, the LLC consent must in addition state that they are so satisfied.
(4) If
paragraph (3) does not apply –
(a) the LLC consent must
instead state that the managers voting for it are satisfied on reasonable
grounds that there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining the permission of the Court
under Regulation 57; and
(b) the limited liability
company must, as soon as is practicable after the LLC consent is given, inform
the other merging bodies that paragraph (3) does not apply.
(5) After
LLC consent is given under paragraph (1), but before notice is given as
mentioned in that paragraph, each manager who voted in favour of it must sign a
certificate –
(a) containing –
(i) if paragraph (3) applies, a solvency
statement, or
(ii) if paragraph (3)
does not apply, a statement that the manager is satisfied on reasonable grounds
that there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining the permission of the Court
under Regulation 57; and
(b) setting out the grounds
for that statement.
(6) Before
notice is given as mentioned in paragraph (1), each person falling within paragraph (7)
must sign a certificate stating –
(a) that, in their opinion,
the merged body will be able to continue to carry on business and discharge its
liabilities as they fall due –
(i) on and immediately after the completion of
the merger, and
(ii) for the 12 months immediately
following the signing of the certificate; and
(b) the grounds for that
opinion, having particular regard to –
(i) the prospects of the merged body,
(ii) the proposals in the merger
agreement with respect to the management of the merged body’s business, or any
proposals in the LLC consents under Regulation 54 with respect to that
matter, and
(iii) the amount and character
of the financial resources that will, in the view of the person signing, be
available to the merged body.
(7) The
persons falling within this paragraph are –
(a) the persons proposed in
the merger agreement, or in an LLC consent under Regulation 54 –
(i) to be managers of the merged body, or
(ii) to manage the merged
body, if it is to be a body that does not have a manager; and
(b) if none of the managers
of the merging limited liability companies is a person referred to in sub-paragraph (a),
each person who must sign a certificate under paragraph (5).
53 LLC consent to merger
agreement
(1) The
managers of each merging limited liability company must submit the merger
agreement for approval by LLC consent of the members of that limited liability
company, and, where there is more than one class or series of members, for
approval by LLC consent of each class or series.
(2) Prior
to giving LLC consent, the managers must give members –
(a) a copy or summary of the
merger agreement;
(b) copies of the proposed
constitutional documents for the merged body, or a summary of the principal
provisions of those documents;
(c) if a summary is supplied
under sub-paragraph (a) or (b), information as to how a copy of the document
summarised may be inspected by members;
(d) copies of the
certificates signed under Regulation 52(5) and (6) in respect of that limited
liability company, and a copy of any information that may have been provided,
by the date that documents are provided under this paragraph, to that limited
liability company by any other merging limited liability company under Regulation 52(4)(b);
(e) a statement of the
material interests in the merger of the managers of each merging body, and of
the persons managing any merging body that does not have managers; and
(f) such further information
as a member would reasonably require to reach an informed decision on the
merger;
(g) sufficient information to
alert members to their right to apply to the Court under Regulation 55.
(3) A
merger is approved under this Regulation when all of the LLC consents referred
to in paragraph (1) have been passed in respect of all of the merging
bodies that are limited liability companies.
(4) A
merger may not be completed unless it is approved under this Regulation, or
under Regulation 54.
54 Simplified approval of
mergers involving subsidiaries
(1) A
holding limited liability company merger or an inter-subsidiary merger may be
approved by LLC consent of the members of each merging limited liability
company under this Regulation, without an approved merger agreement.
(2) For
the purpose of this Regulation, a holding limited liability company merger is a
merger in which –
(a) the merging bodies
are –
(i) a limited liability company that is a
holding limited liability company, and
(ii) one or more other
limited liability companies that are its wholly-owned subsidiaries; and
(b) the merged body is the
holding limited liability company, continuing as a survivor limited liability company.
(3) For
a holding limited liability company merger –
(a) each LLC consent given by
the members of a merging subsidiary must provide that its LLC interests are to
be cancelled without any repayment of capital; and
(b) the LLC consent given by
the members of the holding limited liability company must –
(i) provide that the capital accounts of each
merging subsidiary are to be added to the capital accounts of the holding limited
liability company,
(ii) provide that no LLC
interests are to be issued and no assets distributed by it in connection with
the merger (whether before, on or after the merger),
(iii) specify any changes to
its LLC agreement that are to take effect on the merger, and
(iv) state the names and
addresses of the persons who are proposed to be the members and manager, if
relevant, after the merger.
(4) For
the purpose of this Regulation, an inter-subsidiary merger is a merger in
which –
(a) the merging bodies are
all limited liability companies that are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the same
holding body (whether that holding body is incorporated or registered in Jersey
or elsewhere); and
(b) the merged body is one of
the merging limited liability companies, continuing as a survivor limited
liability company.
(5) For
an inter-subsidiary merger –
(a) each LLC consent given by
the members of a merging limited liability company, other than the survivor
limited liability company, must provide that –
(i) its LLC interests are to be cancelled
without any repayment of capital, and
(ii) its capital accounts are
to be added to the capital accounts of the survivor limited liability company;
and
(b) the LLC consent given by the
members of the survivor limited liability company must –
(i) provide that the capital accounts of each
other merging limited liability company are to be added to the capital accounts
of the survivor limited liability company,
(ii) specify any changes to
the LLC agreement of the survivor limited liability company that are to take
effect on the merger, and
(iii) state the names and
addresses of the persons who are proposed to be the managers of the survivor
limited liability company after the merger.
(6) A
merger is approved under this Regulation when all of the merging limited
liability companies have given the LLC consents required by this Regulation.
(7) In
relation to a merger approved under this Regulation –
(a) Regulations 55, 57 and 58 do not apply; and
(b) the other Regulations in this Part apply to the extent that they
apply to a merger between limited liability companies of which one is a
survivor.
55 Objection by member
(1) A
member of a merging limited liability company may apply to the Court for an
order under Regulation 117 on the ground that the merger would unfairly
prejudice the interests of the member.
(2) An
application may not be made –
(a) more than 21 days
after the merger is approved under Regulation 53(3); or
(b) by a member who voted in
favour of the merger under either of those Regulations.
56 Notice to creditors
(1) During
the period beginning with the date on which the first notice is given as
mentioned in Regulation 52 in relation to a merger and ending 21 days
after the merger is approved under Regulation 53(3), each merging limited
liability company must send written notice to each of its creditors who, after
its members have made reasonable enquiries, is known to the managers to have a
claim against the limited liability company exceeding £5,000.
(2) No
later than 21 days after a merger is approved under Regulation 54(6),
each merging limited liability company must send written notice to each of its
creditors who, after its members have made reasonable enquiries, is known to
the managers to have a claim against the limited liability company exceeding £5,000.
(3) The
notice must state –
(a) that the limited
liability company intends to merge, in accordance with this Part, with one or
more bodies specified in the notice; and
(b) that the merger
agreement, or the limited liability company’s LLC consent given under Regulation 54,
is available to creditors from the limited liability company, free of charge,
on request.
(4) If
Regulation 57 applies to the merger, the notice must state (in addition to
the matters specified in paragraph (2)) –
(a) state that a merging
limited liability company has applied or will apply for the permission of the Court
under that Regulation;
(b) state that any creditor
of any of the merging bodies may request the limited liability company making
the application to send a copy of the application to the creditor; and
(c) set out information as
to –
(i) a means by which a creditor may contact
the limited liability company making the application, or a person representing
it in that application, and
(ii) the effect of Regulation 57(4),
including the date of the application if known at the time of the notice.
(5) If
regulation 58 applies to the merger, the notice must state (in addition to the
matters in paragraph (2)) that any creditor of the limited liability company
may –
(a) object to the merger
under Regulation 58(2)(a); or
(b) require the limited
liability company to notify the creditor if any other creditor of the limited
liability company applies to the Court under Regulation 58(2)(b).
(6) The
limited liability company must, within the time limit set out in paragraph (7),
publish the contents of the notice –
(a) once in a newspaper
circulating in Jersey; or
(b) in any other
manner –
(i) approved by the registrar, and
(ii) published by the Commission.
(7) The
time limit is whichever is the sooner of –
(a) 21 days after the
merger is approved under Regulation 53(3) or 54(6); or
(b) as soon as practicable
after the limited liability company sends the last of any notices under paragraph (1)
or (2).
57 Limited liability company
to apply to Court if solvency statement not made
(1) This
Regulation applies to a merger if any certificate signed by a manager of any of
the merging limited liability companies under Regulation 52(5) does not
contain a solvency statement for the purpose of that Regulation.
(2) The
merger may not be completed unless an act of court has been obtained permitting
the merger on the ground that the merger would not be unfairly prejudicial to
the interests of any creditor of any of the merging bodies.
(3) A
merging limited liability company to which a certificate mentioned in paragraph (1)
relates, or all such limited liability companies jointly if there is more than
one, must as soon as is practicable after the merger is approved under Regulation 53(3) –
(a) apply to the Court for an
act permitting the merger under paragraph (2); and
(b) send a copy of that
application –
(i) to any creditor who, after the managers have
made reasonable enquiries, is known to the managers to have a claim against any
of the merging bodies exceeding the amount specified in Regulation 56(1),
(ii) to any other creditor of
any of the merging bodies who requests a copy from that limited liability
company, and
(iii) to the registrar.
(4) The
Court may not hear the application for at least 21 days after it is made
to the Court.
58 Objection by creditor if
all solvency statements made
(1) This
Regulation applies to a merger to which Regulation 57 does not apply.
(2) A
creditor of a merging limited liability company who objects to the
merger –
(a) may, within 21 days after
the date of the publication of the notice under Regulation 56(6), give
notice of the creditor’s objection to the limited liability company; and
(b) may, within 21 days after
the date of the notice of objection, if the creditor’s claim against the
limited liability company has not been discharged, apply to the Court for an
order restraining the merger or modifying the merger agreement.
(3) If
a creditor makes an application under paragraph (2)(b), the limited
liability company must, within a reasonable time after receiving a copy of the
application, send a copy of it to each other creditor –
(a) to whom a notice was sent
under Regulation 56(1);
(b) who has required a copy
of the application under Regulation 56(4)(b);
(c) who has given notice of
objection under paragraph (2)(a); or
(d) to whom the Court orders
that a copy should be sent.
(4) If
on an application under paragraph (2)(b) the Court is satisfied that the
merger would unfairly prejudice the interests of the applicant, or of any other
creditor of the limited liability company, the Court may make an order in
relation to the merger, including an order –
(a) restraining the merger;
or
(b) modifying the merger
agreement in a manner specified in the order.
(5) Paragraph (6)
applies if the Court is considering making an order under paragraph (4)(b)
to modify a merger agreement that does not contain a provision in accordance
with Regulation 51(6) allowing each of the merging bodies to terminate the
merger following the modification.
(6) The
Court must not make the order unless –
(a) the order also inserts
such a provision in the agreement; and
(b) the Court is satisfied
that each merging body will have an adequate opportunity to reconsider whether
to proceed with the merger following the modification.
(7) If
a merger is approved under Regulation 54, references in this Regulation to
the merger agreement are to be read as references to the LLC consent given
under Regulation 54.
59 Authorisation of
Commission required for mergers involving bodies other than limited liability
companies
(1) If
any of the merging bodies is not a limited liability company –
(a) the merging bodies must
apply jointly, in the published form and manner (if any), to the Commission for
its authorisation of the merger; and
(b) the merger must not be
completed unless the Commission gives consent and any conditions attached to
the authorisation are complied with.
(2) The
application for authorisation may not be made until after the date of the last
publication of a notice under Regulation 56(6).
(3) The
application must be accompanied by –
(a) a copy of the merger
agreement and the LLC consents given under Regulation 53;
(b) a copy, in respect of
each merging limited liability company, of –
(i) the LLC consent given under Regulation 52(1),
together with, if that information is not contained in the LLC consent, a list
identifying the managers who voted in favour of that LLC consent, and
(ii) the certificates signed
under Regulation 52(5) and (6);
(c) a copy, in respect of
each merging limited liability company, of the notice to creditors under Regulation 56,
with the date of its publication under Regulation 56(6); and
(d) information, as at the
time of the application under this Regulation, as to –
(i) any application made by a member to the Court
under Regulation 55, or
(ii) if no such application
has been made to the Court, the date on which the time for doing so has elapsed
or will elapse.
(4) If
Regulation 57 applies to the merger –
(a) the application under
this Regulation must in addition be accompanied by information, as at the time
of that application, as to the application made, or to be made, to the Court
under Regulation 57; and
(b) the applicants
must –
(i) keep the Commission informed of the
progress of the application under that Regulation, and
(ii) provide, when available,
a copy of the act of court permitting the merger.
(5) If
Regulation 57 does not apply to the merger, the application must in
addition be accompanied by –
(a) information, as at the
time of the application under this Regulation, as to –
(i) any notice of objection given by a
creditor under Regulation 58(2)(a), or
(ii) if no such notice has
been given, the date on which the time for doing so has elapsed or will elapse;
and
(b) evidence satisfactory to
the Commission that the merger would not be unfairly prejudicial to the
interests of any creditor of any of the merging bodies.
(6) If
the merged body is to be a limited liability company –
(a) the application must in
addition be accompanied by –
(i) the consents of its proposed managers to
act as such, and
(ii) a copy of its proposed
LLC agreement, unless it is to be a survivor limited liability company without
any amendment to its LLC agreement; and
(b) the Commission must
inform the registrar of the name proposed for the merged limited liability
company in the merger agreement, and the registrar must then inform the
Commission whether that name is in the registrar’s opinion in any way
misleading or otherwise undesirable.
(7) If
one or more of the merging bodies is an overseas body, the application must in
addition be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the Commission, in respect
of each overseas body, that –
(a) the laws of the
jurisdiction in which the overseas body is incorporated or registered do not
prohibit either or both of –
(i) the proposed merger, or
(ii) if the merged body is to
be a new body incorporated or registered in that jurisdiction, the
incorporation or registration of that body as a result of that merger;
(b) if those laws or the
constitution of the overseas body require that an authorisation be given for
the application or for the merger, the authorisation has been given; and
(c) if the overseas body is
not to be a survivor body, the overseas body will, in due course after
completion of the merger, cease to be a body registered under the law of the
jurisdiction in which it is presently registered.
(8) If
the merged body is to be an overseas body, the application must, in addition,
be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the Commission that the laws of the
jurisdiction in which the merged body is to be incorporated or registered provide
that upon the merger –
(a) the property and rights
to which the merging bodies were entitled immediately before the merger will
become the property and rights of the merged body;
(b) the merged body will
become subject to any criminal and civil liabilities, and any contracts, debts
and other obligations, to which the merging bodies were subject immediately
before the merger; and
(c) any actions and other
legal proceedings that, immediately before the merger, were pending by or
against any of the merging bodies may be continued by or against the merged
body.
(9) In
paragraphs (10), (11) and (12) “objection” means –
(a) the making by a member of
an application to the Court under Regulation 55 in respect of any merging
limited liability company; and
(b) the giving of notice of
objection under Regulation 58(2)(a) by a creditor of any merging limited
liability company.
(10) Paragraphs (11),
(12) and (13) apply unless, at the time of the application under this Regulation –
(a) there has been no
objection to the merger; and
(b) the time for making any
objection has elapsed.
(11) The
applicants must –
(a) notify the Commission of
any objection of which they become aware after the application;
(b) notify the Commission of
the result once any objection, whenever made, has been disposed of; and
(c) provide to the Commission
any document or further information reasonably required by the Commission in
connection with any objection.
(12) Until
the applicants have complied with paragraph (11), the Commission –
(a) must not make any
decision on the application other than to refuse consent on grounds unconnected
to an objection; and
(b) may, in respect of the
application, take any other action short of making a decision, or take no
further action.
(13) If
a document or information required by the Commission under paragraph (11)(c)
is not provided within a reasonable time, the Commission may give the
applicants a warning notice stating that the application will be refused unless
the document or information is provided within a period specified in the notice
being not less than 14 days.
(14) Where
any document, information or evidence is submitted under this Regulation –
(a) it must be authenticated
in the manner, if any, published by the Commission; or
(b) the Commission may
require it to be authenticated in any manner appearing reasonable to the
Commission, if the Commission has not published any manner of authentication in
relation to that document, information or evidence.
(15) If
a document, information or evidence submitted under this Regulation is not in
English, it must be accompanied by a translation into English, certified, in a
manner approved by the Commission, to be a correct translation.
60 Fees, expenses and
security
(1) Article 50
of the Law applies to the Commission’s function of considering applications for
consent under Regulation 59, as if references in Article 48 of the
Law to the registrar were references to the Commission.
(2) On
receiving an application under Regulation 59, the Commission may estimate
the likely amount of its expenses in dealing with the application.
(3) If
the estimated amount exceeds any fee charged under Article 50 of the Law,
as applied by paragraph (1), for the consideration of the application, the
Commission may require the applicants to give it security for that excess, to
its satisfaction.
(4) If
the Commission, in the course of considering the application, subsequently
forms the view that its expenses will be of a higher amount it may require the
applicants to give it security for the difference, to its satisfaction.
(5) If
the Commission requires security under paragraph (3) or (4), the
Commission need take no further action in respect of the application until the
security has been given.
(6) The
Commission may give the applicants a warning notice stating that the
application will be refused unless the fee is paid, or the security given,
within a period specified in the notice being not less than 14 days,
if –
(a) a fee is charged under Article 50
of the Law, as applied by paragraph (1), or the Commission requires
security under paragraph (3) or (4); and
(b) that fee is not paid, or
that security is not given, within a reasonable time from the making of the
application or the requirement.
(7) If
the Commission has required security under paragraph (3) or (4) –
(a) on determining the
application the Commission must ascertain the actual amount of its expenses;
and
(b) if the actual amount
exceeds any fee paid under Article 48 of the Law, as applied by paragraph (1),
the Commission may, by notice in writing, require the applicants to pay the
excess.
(8) An
excess notified under paragraph (7)(b) is a debt due and payable jointly
and severally by the applicants to the Commission.
(9) Without
prejudice to any other mode of recovery, the Commission may recover that excess
by realising any security given if the excess is not paid by the applicants on
demand.
61 Commission may require
further information
(1) Following
receipt of an application under Regulation 59, the Commission may by
notice require the applicants to supply to the Commission any other document or
information that the Commission may reasonably require to determine whether to
accept the application.
(2) The
documents and information may in particular include any that are reasonably
required to assess the solvency, and interests of any creditors, of any merging
body that is not a limited liability company.
(3) Any
such document or information must be authenticated in any manner reasonably
required by the Commission.
(4) If
the Commission gives a notice under paragraph (1) –
(a) it need take no further
action in respect of the application until the document or information has been
supplied; and
(b) if the document or
information is not supplied within a reasonable time after the notice, it may
give the applicants a warning notice stating that the application will be
refused unless the document or information is supplied within a period
specified in the notice being not less than 14 days.
62 Decisions and appeals
(1) After
considering an application under Regulation 59 the Commission may –
(a) give its consent without
conditions;
(b) give its consent subject
to conditions; or
(c) refuse its consent.
(2) In
deciding an application the Commission must –
(a) consider all the relevant
circumstances; and
(b) have particular regard to
the interests of creditors of the merging bodies, in addition to the matters to
which it must have particular regard under Article 7 of the Financial Services
Commission (Jersey) Law 1998.
(3) The
Commission may refuse its consent, or impose conditions on its consent, on any
grounds, including any one or more of the following grounds –
(a) that the merger would
unfairly prejudice the interests of a creditor of a merging body;
(b) that the merger would be
undesirable with regard to any other matter mentioned in paragraph (2);
(c) that the applicants have
not complied with a warning notice under Regulation 59(13), 60(6) or 61(4)(b)
within the period specified in that notice;
(d) that any other
requirement of or under this Part has not been met in respect of the merger.
(4) Where
the merged body is to be an overseas body, the Commission must, unless it is
satisfied that it would be preferable in the circumstances not to do so, impose
on any consent a condition that the consent is subject to the merging bodies
complying with Regulation 64(2) and the merged body complying with Regulation 64(3).
(5) Where
the merged body is to be a new limited liability company, the Commission may,
without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (3), refuse its consent,
as if the application was for registration under Part 2 of the Law, on any
ground on which the incorporation or registration of that limited liability company
could be prevented under that Law (whether by the registrar, the Commission or
the Court).
(6) On
determining an application, the Commission must inform the applicants in
writing of –
(a) its decision;
(b) if consent is given
subject to any condition, the terms of that condition; and
(c) if consent is refused or
is given subject to any condition –
(i) the reasons for that refusal or condition,
and
(ii) the right to appeal
under paragraph (7).
(7) If
the Commission refuses consent, or gives consent subject to any condition, an
applicant may, within one month after being informed of the decision, appeal to
the Court on the ground that the decision was unreasonable having regard to all
the circumstances of the case.
(8) On
hearing an appeal under paragraph (7) the Court –
(a) may confirm, reverse or
vary the decision of the Commission; and
(b) may make an order as to
the costs of the appeal.
63 Pre-registration steps:
where all merging bodies are limited liability companies
(1) This
Regulation applies if all the merging bodies in a merger are limited liability
companies.
(2) The
merging limited liability companies must apply jointly, in the published form
and manner (if any), to the registrar to complete the merger.
(3) Except
where all the members of the limited liability companies and all the known
creditors of the limited liability companies otherwise agree in writing, the
application must not be made until after whichever is the last of the following
dates –
(a) if any application was
made to the Court under Regulation 55, the last date on which such an
application is disposed of otherwise than by an order restraining the merger;
(b) if Regulation 57 applies
to the merger, the date of the act of court permitting the merger;
(c) if Regulation 57 does
not apply to the merger –
(i) 21 days after the last date on which
a notice was published under Regulation 56(6), if by then no creditor has
given notice of objection under Regulation 58(2)(a),
(ii) 21 days after the
last date on which the last notice of objection by a creditor was given under Regulation 58(2)(a),
if by then no creditor has applied to the Court under Regulation 58(2)(b),
or
(iii) if any application was
made to the Court under Regulation 58(2)(b), the last date on which such
an application is disposed of otherwise than by an order restraining the
merger.
(4) The
application must be accompanied by –
(a) a copy of the merger
agreement, unless the merger was approved under Regulation 54;
(b) a copy of –
(i) if the merged limited liability company is
to be a new limited liability company, its LLC agreement, or
(ii) if the merged limited
liability company is to be a survivor limited liability company, any amendment
to its LLC agreement provided for under Regulation 51(5)(a) or 54(3)(b)(iii);
(c) a copy, in respect of
each merging limited liability company, of –
(i) the LLC consent under Regulation 52(1),
together with, if that information is not contained in the LLC consent, a list
identifying the members who voted in favour of that LLC consent, and
(ii) the certificates signed
under Regulation 52(5) and (6);
(d) a further certificate,
signed by each manager who signed a certificate under Regulation 52(5),
stating –
(i) that the manager, and the merging limited
liability company of which the manager is a manager, have complied with the
requirements of this Part in respect of the merger, and
(ii) if Regulation 57 does
not apply to the merger, that in the manager’s opinion the merger will not
unfairly prejudice any interests of any creditor of that merging limited
liability company;
(e) a copy of any act of
court under –
(i) Regulation 117 on an application
under Regulation 55,
(ii) Regulation 57, or
(iii) Regulation 58; and
(f) any other document or
information required by the registrar to establish that the requirements of paragraph (3)
have been met.
(5) The
registrar must register notices as to the merger in accordance with Regulation 66
if the registrar is satisfied –
(a) that the application
complies with paragraphs (2) and (3), and that the documents provided
under paragraph (4) comply with that paragraph; and
(b) if the merger agreement
provides for the merged limited liability company to be a new limited liability
company, that the registrar would have registered the declaration of the
limited liability company under Article 4 of the Law if it had been formed
otherwise than by merger.
64 Pre-registration steps:
where merged body is not a limited liability company
(1) This
Regulation applies if –
(a) the merged body provided
for in the merger agreement is not to be a limited liability company;
(b) the Commission has given
its consent to the merger under Regulation 59; and
(c) if any conditions were
attached to that consent (other than a condition under Regulation 62(4)),
those conditions have been met to the satisfaction of the Commission.
(2) if
this Regulation applies, the merging bodies must take whatever steps are
necessary to complete the merger in accordance with the merger agreement under
the laws governing the merged body and those merging bodies that are not
limited liability companies.
(3) As
soon as is reasonably practical after the merging bodies have completed the
merger the merged body must –
(a) inform the Commission
that it has been completed, including the date of completion;
(b) provide any document or
information that the Commission may reasonably require to establish the fact
and date of the completion; and
(c) authenticate any such
document or information in any manner that the Commission may reasonably
require.
(4) If
satisfied that the merger has been completed, the Commission must –
(a) provide the registrar
with copies of –
(i) the merger agreement,
(ii) the certificates signed
under Regulation 52(5) and (6),
(iii) any act of court provided
to the Commission under Regulation 59 or 61, and
(iv) the documents provided to
the Commission to prove completion; and
(b) instruct the registrar to
register the merger.
(5) As
soon as is practical after receipt of the documents and instruction under paragraph (4),
the registrar must register notices as to the merger in accordance with Regulation 66.
65 Pre-registration steps:
other cases
(1) This
Regulation applies if –
(a) one or more of the
merging bodies in a merger is not a limited liability company;
(b) the merged body provided
for in the merger agreement is to be a limited liability company;
(c) the Commission has given
its consent to the merger under Regulation 62; and
(d) if any conditions were
attached to that consent, those conditions have been met to the satisfaction of
the Commission.
(2) The
Commission must –
(a) provide the registrar
with copies of –
(i) the merger agreement,
(ii) the certificates signed
under Regulation 52(5) and (6),
(iii) the LLC agreement of the
merged limited liability company, if it was provided to the Commission under Regulation 59(6)(a)(ii),
and
(iv) any act of court provided
to the Commission under Regulation 59 or 61; and
(b) instruct the registrar to
register the merger.
(3) As
soon as is practical after receipt of the documents and instruction under paragraph (2),
the registrar must register notices as to the merger in accordance with
Regulation 66.
66 Registration of notices
as to merger
(1) This
Regulation applies where the registrar is to register notices as to a merger
under Regulations 63, 64 or 65.
(2) The
completion date of a merger is –
(a) if the merged body is not
a limited liability company, the date notified under Regulation 64(3); or
(b) if the merged body is a limited
liability company, the date the last entry on the register is made under this Regulation
in relation to the merger.
(3) The
registrar must, in respect of each merging limited liability company that is
not a survivor body,enter in the register a notice that –
(a) states that the limited
liability company has ceased to be registered as a limited liability company
because it has merged with a body or bodies specified in the notice, so that
they have together continued as a merged body; and
(b) specifies the name of the
merged body and –
(i) the enactment under which it is registered
in Jersey, or
(ii) the jurisdiction outside
Jersey in which it is registered.
(4) If
the merged body is a survivor limited liability company, the registrar must , in respect of that limited liability
company, enter in the register a notice that –
(a) states that the limited
liability company has merged with a body or bodies specified in the notice, so
that they have together continued as the merged survivor limited liability
company; and
(b) refers to any change in
the limited liability company’s declaration that takes effect on the merger.
(5) If
the merged body is a new limited liability company, the registrar must, if the
registrar would have registered the limited liability company under the Law if
it had been formed otherwise than as the result of a merger –
(a) register the declaration
of and issue a certificate of the formation of the new limited liability
company under Article 4 of the Law, as if the registrar had received an
application for the creation of the limited liability company under Part 2
of the Law with the declaration provided for in the merger agreement; and
(b) enter in the register, in
respect of that new limited liability company, a notice that states that the
limited liability company is the result of a completed merger between the
former bodies specified in the notice, which have together continued as the new
limited liability company.
(6) Each
entry under this Regulation –
(a) must in addition include
a note specifying the completion date of the merger to which it relates; and
(b) may in addition include a
note of any further information that the registrar considers useful in relation
to the merger.
(7) When
the registrar enters a notice on the register referring to an overseas body,
the registrar must also immediately send a copy of the notice to the
appropriate official or public body in the jurisdiction in which that body is
or was formed.
(8) The
registrar must send the copy referred to in paragraph (7) –
(a) electronically;
(b) by some other means of
instantaneous transmission; or
(c) if no instantaneous
transmission to the official or public body is practicable, by such other means
as the registrar believes likely to be acceptable to that official or public
body.
67 Effect of completion of
merger
(1) On
the completion date of a merger –
(a) the merging bodies are
merged and continue as one merged body as provided in the merger agreement or
in the LLC consents given under Regulation 54;
(b) any merging limited
liability company that is not a survivor limited liability company ceases to exist
as a separate limited liability company; and
(c) any merging body falling
within Regulation 49 that is not a survivor body ceases to be incorporated
or registered as a separate body.
(2) When
a merger is completed in which the merged body is a limited liability company
or a body falling within Regulation 49 –
(a) all property and rights
to which each merging body was entitled immediately before the merger was
completed become the property and rights of the merged body;
(b) the merged body becomes
subject to all criminal and civil liabilities, and all contracts, debts and
other obligations, to which each of the merging bodies was subject immediately
before the merger was completed; and
(c) all actions and other
legal proceedings which, immediately before the merger was completed, were
pending by or against any of the merging bodies may be continued by or against
the merged body.
(3) Entries
made on the register under Regulation 66 are conclusive evidence of the
following matters to which they refer –
(a) that on the completion
date specified in the entry the merging bodies merged and continued as the
merged body; and
(b) that the requirements of
these Regulations have been complied with in respect of –
(i) the merger of the merging bodies , and
(ii) all matters precedent to
and incidental to the merger.
(4) The
operation of this Regulation is not regarded –
(a) as a breach of contract
or confidence or otherwise as a civil wrong;
(b) as a breach of any
contractual provision prohibiting, restricting or regulating the assignment or
transfer of rights or liabilities; or
(c) as giving rise to any
remedy by a party to a contract or other instrument, as an event of default
under any contract or other instrument or as causing or permitting the
termination of any contract or other instrument, or of any obligation or
relationship.
68 Offences relating to
merger
(1) A
person commits an offence and is liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment if,
on or in connection with an application under this Part, the person knowingly
or recklessly provides to the Commission or to the registrar –
(a) any information which is
false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular; or
(b) any document containing
any such information.
(2) A
person commits an offence and is liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment if the person signs a certificate under Regulation 52
or 63(4)(d) without having reasonable grounds for the opinion expressed in the
certificate or for the statement made in the certificate.
PART 7
Demerger
69 Interpretation of Part 7
(1) In
this Part –
“completion date”, in relation to a demerger, is
construed in accordance with Regulation 80(2);
“Comptroller” has the
meaning given by Article 1(1) of the Revenue Administration
(Jersey) Law 2019;
“demerged limited liability company” means a limited liability company
resulting from a demerger under this Part;
“demerger instrument” is construed in accordance with Regulation 71;
“demerging limited liability company” means a limited liability company
that demerges into 2 or more limited liability companies under this Part;
“employee” has the meaning given by Article 1A(1) of the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003;
“employer” has the meaning given by Article 1A(1) of the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003;
“Income Tax Law” means the Income Tax (Jersey) Law
1961;
“new limited liability company” means a limited liability company formed
as a result of a demerger;
“solvency statement” is construed in accordance with Regulation 72(2);
“survivor limited liability company” means a demerging limited liability
company which, on completion of a demerger, continues as a demerged limited
liability company.
(2) Nothing in this Part is
to be read as preventing –
(a) more than one person from
signing the same certificate under this Part; or
(b) more than one certificate
signed under this Part from being included in the same document.
(3) References
to a certificate are to be construed in accordance with paragraph (2).
70 Limited liability
companies eligible and not eligible to demerge and be demerged
(1) Subject
to paragraph (2) and to the requirements of this Part, a limited liability
company may demerge into 2 or more limited liability companies –
(a) one of which is a
survivor limited liability company; or
(b) all of which are new
limited liability companies.
(2) The
following limited liability companies are not eligible to demerge or become a
demerged limited liability company –
(a) a financial services
company within the meaning given in Article 3(1) of the Income Tax
Law that is subject to tax under Article 123D of that Law;
(b) a utility company within
the meaning given in Article 123C(3) of the Income Tax Law;
(c) a limited liability company
with profits or gains chargeable to tax from the importation or supply of
hydrocarbon oil under Article 123CAA of the Income Tax Law;
(d) a limited liability
company with profits or gains chargeable to tax under Schedule A under Article 51(1)(a),
(b) or (c) of the Income Tax Law;
(e) a limited liability
company required to deduct tax from the earnings payable by the employer to an
employee under Article 41B(1) of the Income Tax Law;
(f) a limited liability
company required to deduct tax from a payment made to a sub-contractor or to a
person nominated by the sub-contractor for the purpose under Article 41E(1)
of the Income Tax Law; or
(g) a limited liability
company registered under Part 3 of the Goods and Services Tax
(Jersey) Law 2007.
(3) Subject
to an order of the Court, a limited liability company is not eligible to
demerge or to become a demerged limited liability company until the conclusion
of the investigation without a criminal prosecution, or the criminal prosecution,
as the case may be, if that limited liability company –
(a) is under investigation in
relation to an offence; or
(b) has been charged with an
offence and against which there is a criminal prosecution pending.
71 Demerger instrument
(1) A
limited liability company proposing to demerge must execute a demerger
instrument in accordance with this Regulation.
(2) A
demerger instrument must state the terms and means of effecting the demerger
and, in particular, the following information –
(a) details of the proposed
demerging limited liability company, including –
(i) whether or not it is to be a survivor
limited liability company, and
(ii) the names and addresses
of the persons who are the members or managers of the demerging limited
liability company;
(b) details of any
arrangements necessary to complete the demerger;
(c) details of any payment,
other than of a kind described in paragraph (3)(b), proposed to be made to
a member or manager of the demerging limited liability company; and
(d) in relation to the LLC
interests in a demerging limited liability company, the information specified
in paragraph (3).
(3) The
information referred to in paragraph (2)(d) is –
(a) if the LLC interests are
to be converted into LLC interests in a demerged limited liability company, the
manner in which that conversion is to be done; or
(b) otherwise, the kind of
payment that the holders of any LLC interests in the demerging limited
liability company are to receive instead of the securities of a demerged
limited liability company and the manner in which and the time at which they
are to receive it.
(4) If
a demerged limited liability company is to be a new limited liability company,
the demerger instrument must, in addition to the information required under paragraph (2) –
(a) set out –
(i) the proposed declaration of the demerged
limited liability company, and
(ii) the name and address of
any person who will become a member or a manager of the demerged limited
liability company; and
(b) have attached to it a
draft of any other document or information that would be required by the Law to
be delivered to the registrar if the demerged limited liability company was
being formed under the Law otherwise than by demerger.
(5) If
a demerging limited liability company is to be a survivor limited liability
company, the demerger instrument must, in addition to the information required
under paragraph (2) state –
(a) whether any amendments to
the declaration of the demerging limited liability company are proposed to take
effect on the demerger and, if so, details of those amendments; and
(b) whether it is proposed
that, on the demerger, any person will become, or cease to be, a member or a manager
of the survivor limited liability company and, if so, the name and address of
each such person.
(6) A
demerger instrument may provide that, at any time before the completion date of
the demerger, the demerger instrument may be revoked by the demerging limited
liability company.
(7) If
a demerger instrument is revoked under a provision included in it under paragraph (6),
nothing in these Regulations requires or authorises any further steps to be
taken to complete the demerger.
(8) A
demerger instrument must identify the undertaking, property, rights and
liabilities of the demerging limited liability company and must state, in
respect of each demerged limited liability company, which part of the
undertaking, property, rights and liabilities of the demerging limited
liability company is to become the undertaking, property, rights and
liabilities of each demerged limited liability company, except that a liability
attached to any property of a demerging limited liability company must not be
separated from that property.
72 LLC consents and
certificates
(1) Before
notice is given of a meeting of a demerging limited liability company to
approve a demerger instrument under Regulation 71, the managers of the
demerging limited liability company must give an LLC consent stating that, in
the opinion of the managers voting for the LLC consent, the demerger is in the
best interests of the demerging limited liability company.
(2) For
the purposes of this Regulation, a solvency statement is a statement that,
having made full inquiry into the affairs of the demerging limited liability
company, the person making the statement reasonably believes that the demerging
limited liability company is, and will remain until the demerger is completed,
able to discharge its liabilities as they fall due.
(3) If
the managers voting to give the LLC consent are satisfied on reasonable grounds
that they can properly make a solvency statement in respect of the demerging
limited liability company, the LLC consent must in addition state that they are
so satisfied.
(4) If
paragraph (3) does not apply, the LLC consent must instead state that the managers
voting for it are satisfied on reasonable grounds that there is a reasonable
prospect of obtaining the permission of the Court under Regulation 77 for
the demerger.
(5) After
an LLC consent is given under paragraph (1), but before notice is given as
mentioned in that paragraph, each manager who voted in favour of it must sign a
certificate –
(a) containing –
(i) if paragraph (3) applies, a solvency
statement, or
(ii) if paragraph (3)
does not apply, a statement that the manager is satisfied on reasonable grounds
that there is a reasonable prospect of obtaining the permission of the Court
under Regulation 77; and
(b) setting out the grounds
for making the solvency statement under sub-paragraph (a)(i) or statement
under sub-paragraph (a)(ii).
(6) If
paragraph (3) applies, before notice is given as mentioned in paragraph (1),
each person who will become a manager of a demerged limited liability company
as set out in the demerger instrument under Regulation 71(4)(a)(ii) must
sign a certificate stating –
(a) that, in that person’s
opinion, the demerged limited liability company of which the person will be a manager
is in a position to carry on business and discharge its liabilities as they
fall due for the 12 months immediately following the demerger; and
(b) the grounds for that
opinion, having particular regard to –
(i) the prospects of the demerged limited
liability company,
(ii) the proposals in the
demerger instrument with respect to the management of the businesses of the
demerged limited liability company, and
(iii) the amount and character
of the financial resources that will, in the view of the person signing, be
available to the demerged limited liability company.
(7) If
none of the persons referred to in paragraph (6) are managers of the
demerging limited liability company, the certificate under paragraph (6)
must also be signed by a manager referred to in paragraph (5).
73 LLC consent to demerger
instrument
(1) The
managers of a demerging limited liability company must submit the demerger
agreement for approval by LLC consent of the members of that limited liability
company, and, where there is more than one class or series of members, for
approval by LLC consent of each class or series.
(2) Prior
to giving LLC consent the members must be given –
(a) a copy or summary of the
demerger instrument;
(b) a copy of the proposed
LLC agreement for each demerged limited liability company, or a summary of the
principal provisions of the declaration;
(c) if a summary is supplied
under sub-paragraph (a) or (b), information as to how a copy of the
document summarised may, from the date that the notice is given, be inspected
free of charge by members in accordance with paragraph (3);
(d) a copy of the
certificates signed under Regulation 72(5) and (6) in respect of that
demerging limited liability company;
(e) a statement of the
material interests in the demerger of the managers of the demerging limited
liability company and of the persons who will become managers of the demerged
limited liability companies;
(f) any further information that
a member would reasonably require to reach an informed decision on the
demerger; and
(g) sufficient information to
alert members to their right to apply to the Court under Regulation 74.
(3) A
demerging limited liability company must, from the date that notice of a
meeting is given under paragraph (1), make the demerger instrument and
copies of the proposed LLC agreement of each demerged limited liability company
available for inspection free of charge by its members either electronically at
any time or at its registered office during normal office hours.
(4) A
demerger is approved under ths Regulation when all of the LLC consents required
under paragraph (1) have been passed in respect of the demerging limited
liability company.
(5) A
demerger cannot be completed unless it is approved under this Regulation.
74 Objection by member
(1) A
member of a demerging limited liability company may –
(a) within 21 days after
the date on which the demerger is approved under Regulation 73(4), serve
notice on the demerging limited liability company of the member’s objection to
the demerger; and
(b) within 21 days after
the date on which the member of the demerging limited liability company served
notice of the member’s objection under sub-paragraph (a), apply to the Court
for an order on the ground that the demerger would unfairly prejudice the
interests of the member.
(2) An
objection or application under paragraph (1) may not be made by a
member who voted in favour of the demerger under Regulation 73.
(3) If
the Court is satisfied that an application under paragraph (1)(b) is well
founded, it may make such order as it thinks fit for giving relief in respect
of the matters complained of.
(4) Without
prejudice to the generality of paragraph (3), the Court’s order may –
(a) regulate the conduct of
the demerging limited liability company’s affairs in the future;
(b) require the demerging
limited liability company to refrain from doing or continuing an act complained
of by the member or to do an act which the member has complained it has omitted
to do;
(c) authorise civil
proceedings to be brought in the name and on behalf of the demerging limited
liability company by such person or persons and on such terms as the Court may
direct; and
(d) provide for the purchase
of the rights of any members of the demerging limited liability company by
other members or by the demerging limited liability company itself and, in the
case of a purchase by the demerging limited liability company itself, the
reduction of the demerging limited liability company’s capital accounts
accordingly.
(5) If
an order of the Court under this Regulation requires the demerging limited
liability company not to make any, or any specified, alterations in its LLC
agreement or declaration, the demerging limited liability company must not then
without leave of the Court make such alterations in breach of that requirement.
(6) An
alteration in the demerging limited liability company’s LLC agreement or
declaration made by virtue of an order of the Court under this Regulation is of
the same effect as if duly consented to by the demerging limited liability company,
and the provisions of the Law apply to the LLC agreement or declaration as so
altered accordingly.
(7) The
demerging limited liability company must, within 14 days after an order of
the Court is made under this Regulation or such longer period as the Court may
allow, deliver to the registrar for registration the act of court recording the
making of the order under this Regulation –
(a) if the order is altering,
or giving leave to alter, a demerging limited liability company’s LLC agreement
or declaration; or
(b) if the Court otherwise
sees fit.
(8) If
the demerging limited liability company fails to comply with paragraph (7),
the demerging limited liability company commits an offence and –
(a) in the case of a first offence, is liable to a fine of level 3
on the standard scale;
(b) in the case of a
subsequent offence, is liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale and an
additional fine of level 2 on the standard scale for each day (other than the
first day) on which the subsequent offence is proved to have continued.
75 Notice to creditors
(1) During
the period beginning with the date on which the first notice is given under
Regulation 72(1) in relation to a demerger and ending 21 days after
the demerger is approved under Regulation 73(4), the demerging limited
liability company must send written notice to each of its creditors who, after
its managers have made reasonable enquiries, are known to the managers to have
a claim against the demerging limited liability company exceeding £5,000.
(2) The
notice sent under paragraph (1) must state –
(a) that the demerging
limited liability company intends to demerge, in accordance with these
Regulations, into 2 or more limited liability companies specified in the
notice; and
(b) that the demerger instrument
is available to creditors from the demerging limited liability company, on
request, free of charge.
(3) If
Regulation 77 applies to the demerger, the notice sent under paragraph (1)
must (in addition to the matters in paragraph (2)) –
(a) state that a demerging
limited liability company has applied or will apply for the permission of the Court
under that Regulation;
(b) state that any creditor
of the demerging limited liability company may require the demerging limited
liability company making the application to send a copy of the application to
the creditor; and
(c) set out information as
to –
(i) the means by which a creditor may contact
the demerging limited liability company making the application, or a person
representing the demerging limited liability company in that application, and
(ii) the effect of Regulation 77(4),
including the date of the hearing of the application if known at the time of
the notice.
(4) If
Regulation 77 does not apply to the demerger, the notice sent under paragraph (1)
must state (in addition to the matters in paragraph (2)) that any creditor
of the demerging limited liability company may –
(a) object to the demerger
under Regulation 78(2)(a) and apply to the Court for an order restraining
the demerger or modifying the demerger instrument under Regulation 78(2)(b);
or
(b) require the demerging
limited liability company to notify the creditor if any other creditor of the
demerging limited liability company applies to the Court under Regulation 78(2)(b).
(5) The
demerging limited liability company must, within the time limit set out in paragraph (6),
publish the contents of the notice sent under paragraph (1) –
(a) once in a newspaper
circulating in Jersey; or
(b) in any other
manner –
(i) approved by the registrar, and
(ii) published by the
Commission.
(6) The
time limit referred to in paragraph (6) is whichever is the earlier
of –
(a) 21 days after the
demerger is approved under Regulation 73(4); or
(b) as soon as practicable
after the demerging limited liability company sends the last of any notices
under paragraph (1).
(7) Subject
to paragraph (8), a demerging limited liability company must, from the
date that notice of a meeting is given under Regulation 72(1), make the
demerger instrument and a copy of the proposed LLC agreement and declaration of
each demerged limited liability company available for inspection free of charge
by its creditors either electronically at any time or at its registered office
during normal office hours.
(8) A
demerging limited liability company may redact commercially sensitive
information from the demerger instrument or copy of the proposed declaration of
each demerged limited liability company prior to making it available for
inspection under paragraph (7).
76 Declaration to
Comptroller
(1) During
the period beginning with the date on which the first notice is given under
Regulation 73(2) in relation to a demerger and ending 21 days after
the demerger is approved under Regulation 73(4), the demerging limited
liability company must, subject to paragraph (2), make a declaration to
the Comptroller.
(2) The
declaration made under paragraph (1) must state that the demerging limited
liability company is eligible to demerge in accordance with Regulation 70(1)
as none of the conditions under Regulation 70(2) apply to the demerging
limited liability company.
(3) If
a demerging limited liability company makes a declaration under paragraph (1),
the Comptroller must issue a tax certificate (showing a lodgement number) to
the demerging limited liability company.
(4) If
the Comptroller discovers that the demerging limited liability company is not
eligible to demerge, the Comptroller must advise the registrar of that discovery.
77 Limited liability company
to apply to court if solvency statement not made
(1) This
Regulation applies to a demerger if any certificate signed by a manager of the
demerging limited liability company under Regulation 72(5) does not
contain a solvency statement.
(2) A
demerger to which this Regulation applies must not be completed unless an order
of the Court has been obtained permitting the demerger on the ground that the
demerger would not be unfairly prejudicial to the interests of any creditor or
member of the demerging limited liability company.
(3) A
demerging limited liability company in respect of which a certificate referred
to in paragraph (1) has been signed must, as soon as is practicable after
the demerger is approved under Regulation 73(4) –
(a) apply to the Court for an
order permitting the demerger under paragraph (2); and
(b) send a copy of the
application referred to in sub-paragraph (a) –
(i) to any creditor who, after the members
have made reasonable enquiries, is known to the members to have a claim against
the demerging limited liability company exceeding £5,000,
(ii) to any other creditor of
the demerging limited liability company who requests a copy from the demerging
limited liability company,
(iii) to any member of the demerging
limited liability company who requests a copy of the application, and
(iv) to the registrar.
(4) The
Court must not hear an application made under paragraph (3) until at least
28 days after it is made to the court unless the creditors and members mentioned
in paragraph (3)(b) consent to a shorter period.
(5) On
the hearing by the Court of an application under this Regulation, a person
mentioned in paragraph (3)(b) has a right to be heard.
78 Objection by creditor if
solvency statement made
(1) This
Regulation applies to a demerger to which Regulation 77 does not apply.
(2) A
creditor of a demerging limited liability company who has a claim against the
demerging limited liability company exceeding £5,000 and who objects to
the demerger may –
(a) within 21 days after
the date of the publication of the contents of the notice under
Regulation 75(5), serve notice of the creditor’s objection to the
demerging limited liability company; and
(b) within 21 days after
the date on which the notice of the creditor’s objection was given under sub-paragraph (a),
if the creditor’s claim against the demerging limited liability company has not
been discharged, apply to the Court for an order restraining the demerger or
modifying the demerger instrument and serve a copy of the application on the
demerging limited liability company.
(3) If
a creditor makes an application under paragraph (2)(b), the demerging limited
liability company must, as soon as is practicable after being served with a
copy of the application under paragraph (2)(b), give a copy of it to each
other creditor –
(a) to whom a notice was
given under Regulation 75(1);
(b) who has required
notification under Regulation 75(4)(b);
(c) who has given notice of
objection under paragraph (2)(a); and
(d) to whom the Court orders
that a copy should be sent.
(4) If
on an application under paragraph (2)(b) the Court is satisfied that the
demerger would unfairly prejudice the interests of the applicant, or of any
other creditor of the demerging limited liability company, the Court may make an
order in relation to the demerger, including –
(a) restraining the demerger;
or
(b) modifying the demerger
instrument in such manner as may be specified in the order.
(5) The
Court must not make an order under paragraph (4)(b) to modify a demerger
instrument that does not contain a provision in accordance with
Regulation 71(6) allowing the demerging limited liability company to
revoke the demerger instrument following the modification unless –
(a) the order also inserts
such a provision in the demerger instrument; and
(b) the Court is satisfied
that the demerging limited liability company will have an adequate opportunity
to reconsider whether to proceed with the demerger following the modification.
79 Pre-registration steps
(1) The
demerging limited liability company must apply, in the published form and
manner (if any), to the registrar to complete the demerger.
(2) Except
where all the members of the demerging limited liability company and all of its
creditors, who, after its managers have made reasonable enquiries, are known to
the managers to have a claim against the demerging limited liability company
exceeding £5,000, otherwise agree in writing, the application under paragraph (1)
may not be made until after whichever is the latest of the following
dates –
(a) if any application was
made to the Court under Regulation 74, the last date on which such an
application is disposed of otherwise than by an order restraining the demerger;
(b) if Regulation 77 applies
to the demerger, the date of the order permitting the demerger;
(c) if Regulation 77 does
not apply to the demerger –
(i) 21 days after the last date on which
a notice was published under Regulation 75(5), if by then no creditor has
given notice of objection under Regulation 78(2)(a),
(ii) 21 days after the
date on which the last notice of objection by a creditor was given under
Regulation 78(2)(a), if by then no creditor has applied to the Court under
Regulation 78(2)(b), or
(iii) if any application was
made to the Court under Regulation 78(2)(b), the last date on which the
application is disposed of otherwise than by an order restraining the demerger.
(3) An
application under paragraph (1) must be accompanied by –
(a) a copy of the demerger
instrument;
(b) a copy of –
(i) if a demerged limited liability company is
to be a new limited liability company, its LLC agreement and declaration and
any other document required for the formation of a new limited liability
company under the Law, or
(ii) if a demerged limited
liability company is to be a survivor limited liability company, any amendment
to its LLC agreement or declaration provided for under Regulation 71(5)(a);
(c) a copy, in respect of the
demerging limited liability company, of –
(i) the LLC consent under Regulation 72(1),
together with, if that information is not contained in the LLC consent, a list
identifying the managers who voted in favour of that LLC consent, and
(ii) the certificates signed
under Regulation 72(5) and (6);
(d) a further certificate,
signed by each manager who signed a certificate under Regulation 72(5),
stating –
(i) that the manager, and the demerging
limited liability company of which the manager is a manager, have complied with
the requirements of these Regulations in respect of the demerger, and
(ii) if Regulation 77 does
not apply to the demerger, that in the manager’s opinion there has been no
material change to the position stated in the solvency statement; and
(e) the LLC consent given
under Regulation 73;
(f) a copy of any order of
the Court under Regulation 74, 77 or 78;
(g) proof that a declaration
has been made by the demerging limited liability company under Regulation 76
in the form of a tax certificate (showing a lodgement number) issued by the
Comptroller to the demerging limited liability company under Regulation 76(3);
and
(h) any other document or
information required by the registrar, including documents or information which
may be required by the registrar to establish that the requirements of paragraph (2)
have been met.
(4) The
registrar must register notices as to the demerger in accordance with
Regulation 80 if the registrar is satisfied –
(a) that the application
complies with paragraphs (1) and (2) and is accompanied by the documents
and information required under paragraph (3) and that the documents
provided under paragraph (3) comply with that paragraph; and
(b) if the demerger
instrument provides for a demerged limited liability company to be a new
limited liability company, that the registrar would have registered the declaration
of the limited liability company under Article 4 of the Law if it had been
formed otherwise than by demerger.
80 Registration of notices
as to demerger
(1) This
Regulation applies where the registrar is required to register notices as to a
demerger under Regulation 79.
(2) The
completion date of a demerger is the date the last entry on the register is
made under this Regulation in relation to the demerger.
(3) The
registrar is to enter in the register, in respect of a demerging limited
liability company that is not a survivor limited liability company, a notice
that states that the limited liability company has ceased to be registered as a
separate limited liability company because it has demerged into the demerged
limited liability companies specified in the notice.
(4) If
a demerged limited liability company is a survivor limited liability company,
the registrar is to enter in the register, in respect of that limited liability
company, a notice that states that the limited liability company has demerged,
and has been continued as a survivor limited liability company together with
the new limited liability company or limited liability companies specified in
the notice.
(5) If
a demerged limited liability company is a new limited liability company, the
registrar is required to, if the registrar would have registered the new
limited liability company under the Law if it had been formed otherwise than as
the result of a demerger, register the new limited liability company by –
(a) registering the
declaration of the new limited liability company and issuing a certificate of
registration under Article 4 of the Law as if the registrar had received
an application for the creation of the new limited liability company under Part 2
of the Law with the declaration provided for in the demerger instrument; and
(b) entering in the register,
in respect of that new limited liability company, a notice that states that the
new limited liability company is the result of a completed demerger of the
demerging limited liability company specified in the notice.[3]
(6) The
fee payable under Article 50 of the Law in respect of the registration of
a limited liability company is payable in respect of the registration of a new
limited liability company under paragraph (5).
(7) Each
entry on the register under this Regulation –
(a) must in addition include
a note specifying the completion date of the demerger to which it relates; and
(b) may in addition include a
note of any further information that the registrar considers useful in relation
to the demerger.
81 Effect of completion of
demerger generally
(1) On
the completion date of a demerger –
(a) if the demerging limited
liability company is a survivor limited liability company it continues as a
demerged limited liability company together with one or more demerged limited
liability companies that are new limited liability companies; or
(b) if the demerging limited
liability company is not a survivor limited liability company it ceases to be in
existence as a separate limited liability company and continues as 2 or more
demerged limited liability companies that are new limited liability companies.
(2) Subject
to paragraph (3), when a demerger is completed –
(a) all property and rights
to which the demerging limited liability company was entitled immediately
before the demerger was completed become the property and rights of the
demerged limited liability companies in the parts stated in the demerger
instrument under Regulation 71(8) or jointly in common in equal parts if
not stated in the demerger instrument;
(b) subject to an order of
the Court, the demerged limited liability companies become jointly and
severally subject to all financial penalties which the demerging limited
liability company was subject to immediately before the demerger was completed;
(c) the demerged limited
liability companies become subject to all civil liabilities and all contracts,
debts and other obligations which the demerging limited liability company was
subject to immediately before the demerger was completed in the parts stated in
the demerger instrument under Regulation 71(8) or jointly and severally if
not stated in the demerger instrument; and
(d) subject to an order of
the Court, all actions and other legal proceedings which, immediately before
the demerger was completed, were pending by or against the demerging limited
liability company may be continued by or against all or any of the demerged
limited liability companies.
(3) A
licence held by a demerging limited liability company may not be transferred to
a demerged limited liability company on completion of the demerger except with
the permission of the authority that granted the licence.
(4) Entries
made on the register under Regulation 80 are conclusive evidence of the
following matters to which they refer –
(a) that on the completion
date of the demerger specified in the entry, the demerging limited liability company
demerged and was continued as the demerged limited liability companies; and
(b) that the requirements of
these Regulations and the Law have been complied with in respect of –
(i) the demerger of the demerging limited
liability company under these Regulations, and
(ii) all matters precedent to
and incidental to the demerger.
(5) The
operation of this Regulation is not to be regarded –
(a) as a breach of contract
or confidence or otherwise as a civil wrong;
(b) as a breach of any
contractual provision prohibiting, restricting or regulating the assignment or
transfer of rights or liabilities; or
(c) as giving rise to any
remedy by a party to a contract or other instrument, as an event of default
under any contract or other instrument, or as causing or permitting the
termination of any contract or other instrument, or of any obligation or
relationship.
(6) In
this Regulation “licence” includes an authorisation, a certificate, a consent,
a permit, a registration or any other permission.
82 Effect of demerger on
employment
(1) During
the period beginning with the date on which the first notice is given under
Regulation 72(1) in relation to a demerger and ending 21 days after
the demerger is approved under Regulation 73(4), the demerging limited
liability company must send written notice to each of its employees.
(2) The
notice sent under paragraph (1) must state –
(a) that the demerging limited
liability company intends to demerge, in accordance with these Regulations,
into 2 or more limited liability companies specified in the notice; and
(b) that the demerger
instrument is available to employees from the demerging limited liability company,
on request, free of charge.
(3) A
demerging limited liability company must make the demerger instrument available
to employees free of charge and may redact commercially sensitive information
from the demerger instrument prior to making it available to employees.
(4) Where
any duty, right or liability transferred from a demerging limited liability company
to a demerged limited liability company under a demerger is a duty, right or
liability under a contract of employment –
(a) the contract –
(i) is not terminated by the demerger, unless
express provision is made to that effect, or unless paragraph (5) applies,
and
(ii) has effect from the
completion date of the demerger as if between the employee and the demerged limited
liability company;
(b) any act done or omitted
to be done before the completion date of the demerger by or in relation to the
demerging limited liability company in respect of the contract of employment or
employee is to be treated from that date as having been done or omitted to be
done, as the case may be, by or in relation to the demerged limited liability company;
and
(c) a period of employment
with the demerging limited liability company is to be treated as a period of
employment with the demerged limited liability company, and the demerger is not
to be treated as interrupting the continuity of that period.
(5) Where
an employee objects to a transfer of the employee’s rights and liabilities
under a contract of employment, the employee must give notice of the employee’s
objection to the demerging limited liability company in writing prior to the
completion date of the demerger and where such notice is given and has not been
withdrawn prior to that date –
(a) subject to sub-paragraph (d),
the rights and liabilities of the employee under the contract of employment are
not transferred by the demerger;
(b) subject to sub-paragraph (d),
the employee is not to be treated, for any purpose, as having been either
employed by the demerged limited liability company or dismissed by the
demerging limited liability company;
(c) the employee’s contract
of employment terminates on the completion date of the demerger and the
demerging limited liability company may make a payment to the employee in lieu
of notice in respect of all or part of the relevant unexpired notice period;
and
(d) any liability of the
demerging limited liability company to pay the employee upon termination of the
employee’s contract of employment under sub-paragraph (c) is a liability
of the demerged limited liability companies in the parts stated in the demerger
instrument under Regulation 71(8) or jointly and severally if not stated
in the demerger instrument.
(6) Any
collective agreement continues to have effect in respect of an employee as if made by or on behalf of the
demerged limited liability company to which the rights and liabilities under
the collective agreement are transferred if it is –
(a) made by the demerging limited
liability company with a representative body recognised by the demerging
limited liability company; and
(b) in force in relation to
an employee immediately before the completion date of the demerger.
(7) Changes
to an employee’s terms and conditions of employment may, after the expiry of
one year after the completion date of the demerger, be negotiated between a
demerged limited liability company and an employee of that demerged limited
liability company (whose contract of employment was transferred from the
demerging limited liability company to the demerged limited liability company)
without the risk of the changes being declared void on the basis of terms and
conditions that were in effect between the demerging limited liability company
and the employee before the demerger.
(8) A
demerged limited liability company must not within one year after a
demerger terminate the recognition of a representative body whose recognition
by the demerging limited liability company was effective immediately prior to
the completion date of the demerger.
(9) A
demerging limited liability company may transfer to a demerged limited
liability company the following information regarding an employee of the
demerging limited liability company for the purpose of employment of the
employee by the demerged limited liability company –
(a) the name and address of
the employee;
(b) the age of the employee;
(c) educational or vocational
qualifications of the employee;
(d) information regarding a
collective agreement which applies to the employee;
(e) information regarding any
current disciplinary proceedings or grievances in respect of the employee;
(f) information regarding
any legal action taken by the employee against the employer in the previous
2 years;
(g) information regarding any
annual, special, maternity, paternity or other leave due to be taken or owed to
the employee; and
(h) any other information
which may reasonably be necessary.
83 Effect of a demerger on
retirement schemes
If, immediately before
the completion date of a demerger, the demerging limited liability company had
a contractual obligation to pay a contribution to a retirement scheme on behalf
of an employee, that contractual obligation is, on the completion date of the
demerger, transferred to the demerged limited liability company, if any, which
is the employee’s employer on the completion date of the demerger.
84 Offences relating to
demerger
(1) A
person commits an offence if the person, on or in connection with an
application under this Part, knowingly or recklessly provide to the registrar
or the Comptroller –
(a) any information which is
false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular; or
(b) any document containing any
information which is false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular.
(2) A
person commits an offence if, the person signs a certificate under
Regulation 72 or 79(3)(d) without having reasonable grounds for the
opinion expressed in the certificate or for the statement made in the
certificate.
(3) A
person who contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) commits an offence and is liable
to imprisonment for a term of 2 years and a fine.
PART 8
Continuance
85 Limited liability
companies which are eligible for continuance
(1) Subject
to Regulation 86, a body which is registered outside Jersey may apply
under Regulation 88 to the Commission for the issue to that body of a
certificate that it continues as a limited liability company registered under
the Law if it is authorised to make such an application by the laws of the
jurisdiction under which it is registered outside Jersey.
(2) Subject
to Regulation 86, a limited liability company which is registered in
Jersey under the Law may apply under Regulation 97 to the Commission for
authorisation to seek continuance as a body registered under the laws of
another jurisdiction ifRegulation 95 is complied with and the proposal to apply
in that other jurisdiction for continuance there is approved by its members in
accordance with Regulation 94.
86 Restrictions on
continuance
(1) An
application may not be made under Regulation 88 by a limited liability
company to which paragraph (3) applies for continuance as a limited
liability company incorporated or registered under the Law.
(2) An
application may not be made under Regulation 97 by a limited liability
company to which paragraph (3) applies for authorisation to seek
continuance in another jurisdiction.
(3) This
paragraph applies to a limited liability company if –
(a) it is being wound up, or
is in liquidation or is subject to a declaration under the Bankruptcy Désastre
(Jersey) Law 1990;
(b) it is insolvent;
(c) a receiver, manager or
administrator (by whatever name any such person is called) has been appointed,
whether by a court or in some other manner, in respect of any property of that
limited liability company;
(d) it has entered into a
compromise or arrangement with a creditor (not being a compromise or
arrangement approved by the Commission) and that compromise or arrangement is
in force; or
(e) an application is pending
before a court for the winding up or liquidation of that limited liability
company, or to have it declared insolvent, or for a declaration under the Bankruptcy
Désastre (Jersey) Law 1990, or for the appointment of such a receiver, manager
or administrator or for the approval of such a compromise or arrangement.
(4) For
the purposes of paragraph (3), it is immaterial in which
jurisdiction –
(a) the body is being wound
up or is in liquidation;
(b) the receiver, manager or
administrator has been appointed or the compromise or arrangement has been
entered into; or
(c) the application before a
court is pending.
87 Security for Commission’s
expenses under this Part
(1) The
Commission must estimate the likely amount of its expenses in dealing with an
application on receiving –
(a) an application under
Regulation 88, by a body registered outside Jersey, for continuance as a
limited liability company registered under the Law; or
(b) an application under Regulation 97,
by a limited liability company registered under the Law, for authorisation to
seek continuance in another jurisdiction.[4]
(2) The
Commission must then require the applicant to give it security for that amount,
to the satisfaction of the Commission, and must not consider the application
further until the security has been given.
(3) If
the Commission, in the course of considering the application, subsequently
forms the view that its expenses will be of a higher amount –
(a) it may require the applicant
to give it security for that higher amount, to its satisfaction; and
(b) it may refuse to consider
the application further until that security has been given.
(4) On
determining the application, the Commission must ascertain the actual amount of
its expenses, and inform the applicant.
(5) The
expenses are a debt due and payable by the applicant to the Commission.
(6) Without
prejudice to any other mode of recovery, the Commission may recover the
expenses by realising the security if they are not paid by the applicant on
demand.
88 Application to Commission
for continuance within Jersey
(1) An
application to the Commission by a body registered outside Jersey, for
continuance as a limited liability company registered under the Law, must be
accompanied by –
(a) a copy (certified, in a
manner approved by the Commission, to be a true copy) of the LLC agreement, or
of the law or other instrument constituting or defining the constitution of the
body;
(b) particulars of
continuance which comply with Regulation 89;
(c) a solvency statement
which is in accordance with Regulation 100;
(d) the name under which it
is proposed to continue the body as a limited liability company registered
under the Law;
(e) the name and address of
every person who is a member or a manager of the body at the date of the
application or is to be a member of it upon its continuance as a limited
liability company registered under the Law;
(f) the name and address of
each person who is a secretary of the body at the date of the application or is
to be its secretary upon its continuance as a limited liability company
registered under the Law;
(g) any other information
that the registrar would require on an application to register the body as a
limited liability company under the Law;
(h) any other documents and
information that the Commission may require in respect of a particular
application; and
(i) any published
application fee.
(2) The
application must also be accompanied by evidence, satisfactory to the
Commission, of the following matters –
(a) that the body is
authorised, by the laws of the jurisdiction under which it is registered, to
make the application to the Commission;
(b) where the constitution of
the body or the law of that jurisdiction requires that any authorisation be given
for the application to the Commission, that it has been given;
(c) that if a certificate of
continuance is issued under Regulation 92 in connection with the application,
the body will at that time cease to be registered under the other jurisdiction;
(d) that if a certificate of
continuance is issued, the interests of the members and the creditors of the
body will not be unfairly prejudiced; and
(e) that the body is not
prevented by Regulation 86 from making the application.
(3) If
an instrument which is submitted in accordance with paragraph (1)(a) is
not in English, the application must also be accompanied by a translation of
the instrument into English that is certified in a manner approved by the
Commisison to be a correct translation.
89 Particulars of
continuance
(1) Particulars
of continuance must state those amendments to be made to the instrument
constituting or defining the body’s constitution which are necessary to conform
to the laws of Jersey.
(2) Particulars
of continuance must also state any other amendments which are to be made to the
instrument –
(a) that have been approved
by its members in the manner required by the Law for amendments to an LLC
agreement of a limited liability company; and
(b) that would be permitted
under the laws of Jersey if the body were a limited liability company.
90 Proposed name
(1) After
receiving an application under Regulation 88, the Commission must inform
the registrar of the name in which the applicant proposes to continue as a limited
liability company registered under the Law.
(2) The
registrar must then inform the Commission whether that name is in the
registrar’s opinion in any way misleading or otherwise undesirable.
(3) If
the applicant proposes to continue as a limited liability company, its name
must in any event comply with Article 7 of the Law.
91 Determination of
application to Commission for continuance within Jersey
(1) The
Commission may grant an application under Regulation 88 for continuance as
a limited liability company registered under the Law if the Commission –
(a) is satisfied that the
application complies with that Regulation and with Regulation 85(1);
(b) is informed by the
registrar that the proposed name of the applicant is in the registrar’s opinion
not in any way misleading or otherwise undesirable, and is also satisfied that
the name complies with Article 7 of the Law;
(c) is satisfied that all
other approvals and consents required by the law of Jersey for the issue of a
certificate of continuance to the applicant have been given; and
(d) is satisfied that the
applicant has paid the application fee, if any, and the expenses due to the
Commission under Regulation 87.
(2) If
the application is granted, the Commission must inform the registrar and
deliver to the registrar the documents which accompanied the application.
(3) On
determining the application, the Commission must inform the applicant of its
decision.
(4) If
required by the applicant, the Commission must give the applicant, within 14 days,
a statement in writing of its reasons for a decision to refuse the application.
(5) An
applicant may, within one month after being informed of a decision by the
Commission to refuse the applicant’s application, appeal to the Court on the
ground that the decision of the Commission was unreasonable having regard to
all the circumstances of the case.
(6) On
hearing the appeal, the Court –
(a) may confirm or reverse
the decision of the Commission; and
(b) may make an order as to
the costs of the appeal.
92 Issue of certificate of
continuance within Jersey
(1) The
registrar must register an application and the accompanying documents when the
registrar –
(a) is informed under Regulation 91
by the Commission that it has granted an application for a certificate of
continuance as a limited liability company registered under the Law; and
(b) receives from the
Commission the documents which accompanied the application.
(2) On
registration, the registrar must immediately issue to the applicant a
certificate of continuance which is signed by the registrar and sealed with registrar’s
seal.
(3) When
the registrar issues a certificate of continuance, the registrar must also
immediately send a copy of the notice to the appropriate official or public
body in the jurisdiction to which Regulation 88(2)(a) refers.
(4) The
registrar must send the copy referred to in paragraph (3) –
(a) electronically;
(b) by some other means of
instantaneous transmission; or
(c) if no instantaneous
transmission to the official or public body is practicable, by such other means
as the registrar believes likely to be acceptable to that official or public
body.
93 Effect of issue of
certificate of continuance within Jersey
(1) Upon
the issue of the certificate of continuance by the registrar –
(a) the body becomes a
limited liability company registered under the Law, to which the Law applies
accordingly; and
(b) the LLC agreement or the
declaration, or the instrument constituting or defining the constitution of the
body, as amended in accordance with its particulars of continuance, becomes the
LLC agreement of the continued limited liability company.
(2) When
a body is continued as a limited liability company registered under the
Law –
(a) all property and rights
to which the body was entitled immediately before the certificate of
continuance is issued are the property and rights of the limited liability company;
(b) the limited liability
company is subject to all criminal and civil liabilities, and all contracts,
debts and other obligations, to which the body was subject immediately before
the certificate of continuance is issued; and
(c) all actions and other
legal proceedings which, immediately before the issue of the certificate of
continuance, were pending by or against the body may be continued by or against
the limited liability company.
(3) A
certificate of continuance is conclusive evidence of the following
matters –
(a) that the limited
liability company is registered under the Law; and
(b) that the requirements of
the Law have been complied with in respect of –
(i) the continuance of the limited liability
company under the Law,
(ii) all matters precedent to
its continuance as a limited liability company, and
(iii) all matters incidental to
its continuance as a limited liability company.
94 Approval by members of
proposal for continuance overseas
(1) A
proposal by a limited liability company to apply in another jurisdiction for
continuance there must be approved by an LLC consent by the members of the limited
liability company.
(2) Before
giving the LLC consent, the members must be provided with –
(a) a copy or summary of the
proposed application in the other jurisdiction for continuance there; and
(b) a statement that any
member of the limited liability company who objects to the application may,
within the time limit specified in Regulation 96(2), apply to the Court
for an order under Regulation 117 on the ground that the proposed
continuance would unfairly prejudice the member’s interests.
(3) Subject
to any provision to the contrary in the LLC agreement, a decision to approve a
proposed application in another jurisdiction for continuance is to be made in
accordance with Article 16(2) of the Law.
95 Notice to creditors of
application to Commission for authorisation to seek continuance overseas
(1) At
least 21 days before before a limited liability company makes an application
under Regulation 97 to the Commission for authorisation to seek
continuance in another jurisdiction, the limited liability company must, unless
all its known creditors otherwise agree in writing, give notice to them under this Regulation.
(2) The
notice –
(a) must state that the limited
liability company intends to make the application to the Commission, and must
specify the jurisdiction in which it proposes to seek continuance;
(b) must be sent in writing
to each creditor of the limited liability company;
(c) must be published once in
a newspaper circulating in Jersey or in another manner as the Court may on
application direct; and
(d) must state that any
creditor of the limited liability company who objects to the application may
within 21 days of the date of the publication under sub-paragraph (c) give
notice of the creditor’s objection to the limited liability company.
(3) A
creditor who gives notice under paragraph (2)(d) and whose claim against
the limited liability company has not been discharged may, within 21 days
after the date of the notice, apply to the Court for an order restraining the
application by the limited liability company to the Commission under Regulation 97.
(4) On
the creditor’s application the Court, if satisfied that the interests of the
creditor would be unfairly prejudiced by the proposed continuance, may make an
order (subject to such terms, if any, as it may think fit) restraining the
application by the limited liability company to the Commission under Regulation 97.
96 Objections by members to
continuance overseas
(1) If
the members of a limited liability company give an LLC consent to make an
application under Regulation 97 to the Commission for authorisation to
seek continuance in another jurisdiction, any member of the limited liability company
who objects to the application (other than a member who approved, consented to
or voted in favour of it) may apply to the Court for an order under Regulation 117
on the ground that the proposed continuance would unfairly prejudice the
member’s interests.
(2) No
such application may be made by a member after the expiration of the period of
21 days following the last LLC consent of the members of the limited
liability company which is required under Regulation 94.
97 Application to Commission
for authorisation to seek continuance overseas
(1) An
application to the Commission under this Regulation for authorisation to seek
continuance in another jurisdiction must be accompanied by –
(a) a copy (certified, in a
manner approved by the Commission, to be a true copy) of each LLC consent which
is required under Regulation 94;
(b) a solvency statement which
is made in accordance with Regulation 100;
(c) any other documents and
information that the Commission may require in respect of a particular
application for the authorisation; and
(d) any published application
fee.
(2) The
application under this Regulation must also be accompanied by evidence,
satisfactory to the Commission, of the following matters –
(a) that the laws of the
jurisdiction in which the limited liability company proposes to continue allow
its continuance there as a limited liability body formed under those laws;
(b) that those laws provide
that upon the continuance of the limited liability company as a limited
liability body in that jurisdiction –
(i) all property and rights of the limited
liability company will become the property and rights of the limited liability body,
(ii) the limited liability body
will become subject to all criminal and civil liabilities, and all contracts,
debts and other obligations, to which the limited liability company is subject,
and
(iii) all actions and other
legal proceedings which are pending by or against the limited liability company
may be continued by or against the limited liability body;
(c) that notice has been
given to the creditors of the limited liability company, in accordance with Regulation 95,
of the application to the Commission under this Regulation, and either –
(i) that no creditor has applied to the Court
for an order restraining the application made to the Commission under this Regulation,
or
(ii) that the application of
every creditor who has so applied to the Court has been determined by the Court
in a way which does not prevent the Commission from granting the application
made to it under this Regulation;
(d) either –
(i) that no member of the limited liability company
has applied to the Court for an order under Regulation 117 on the ground
specified in Regulation 96(1), or
(ii) that the application of
every member who has so applied to the Court has been determined by the Court
in a way which does not prevent the Commission from granting the application
made to it under this Regulation;
(e) that the limited
liability company has complied with any other conditions that may be
prescribed; and
(f) that the limited
liability company is not prevented by Regulation 86 from making the
application.
98 Determination of
application to Commission for authorisation to seek continuance overseas
(1) The
Commission may grant an application under Regulation 97 on the condition
specified in paragraph (2) and on such other conditions (if any) as it may
specify in its decision if –
(a) it is satisfied that the
application complies with that Regulation and with Regulation 85; and
(b) in addition to having
paid the application fee (if any), the applicant has paid the expenses due to
the Commission under Regulation 87.
(2) It
is a condition of the grant of any application made under Regulation 97 that,
within a time sufficient to enable the registrar to comply with Regulation 99,
the applicant will ensure –
(a) that the registrar is
informed of the date on which continuance will be or is granted in the other
jurisdiction; and
(b) that a copy of the
instrument of continuance in the other jurisdiction, certified to be a true
copy, is delivered to the registrar.
(3) On
determining the application, the Commission must inform the applicant of its
decision.
(4) If
required by the applicant, the Commission must provide the applicant within 14 days
with a statement in writing of its reasons for a decision to refuse the
application.
(5) An
applicant may, within one month after being informed of a decision by the
Commission to refuse its application, or to grant it subject to a condition
(not being a condition specified in paragraph (2)), appeal to the Court on
the ground that the decision of the Commission was unreasonable having regard
to all the circumstances of the case.
(6) On
hearing the appeal, the Court –
(a) may confirm, reverse or
vary the decision of the Commission; and
(b) may make an order as to
the costs of the appeal.
99 Effect of continuance
overseas
When a limited liability
company is, in accordance with the terms of authorisation of the Commission
under Regulation 98, continued as a limited liability body under the laws
of the other jurisdiction to which the authorisation relates –
(a) it ceases to be a limited
liability company under the Law; and
(b) the registrar must on
that date record that under paragraph (a) it has ceased to be registered
under the Law.
100 Solvency statements in
respect of continuance
(1) A
solvency statement for the purposes of an application under Regulation 88 for
continuance as a limited liability company formed under the Law must be signed
by each person who is a manager of the applicant and must state that, having
made full inquiry into the affairs of the applicant, that manager
reasonably believes –
(a) that the applicant is
and, if the application is granted, will upon the issue to it of a certificate
of continuance, be able to discharge its liabilities as they fall due;
(b) that, having regard to
the factors in paragraph (2), the limited liability company will be able
to –
(i) continue to carry on business, and
(ii) discharge its
liabilities as they fall due.
(2) The
factors are –
(a) the prospects of the
limited liability company;
(b) the intentions of the managers
with respect to the management of the limited liability company’s business, and
(c) the amount and character
of the financial resources that will in the managers’ view be available to the
limited liability company.
(3) A
solvency statement for the purposes of an application under Regulation 97 for
authorisation to seek continuance in another jurisdiction must be signed by
each person who is a manager of the applicant and must state that, having made
full inquiry into the affairs of the applicant, that manager reasonably
believes –
(a) that the applicant is
and, if the application is granted, will upon its registration under the laws
of the other jurisdiction be able to discharge its liabilities as they fall
due; and
(b) that the applicant, if registered
under the laws of the other jurisdiction, will be able to discharge its
liabilities as they fall due, having regard to –
(i) the prospects of the applicant,
(ii) the intentions of the managers
with respect to the management of the applicant’s business, and
(iii) the amount and character
of the financial resources that will in the managers’ view be available to the
applicant if the application is granted.
(4) A
solvency statement for the purposes of Regulation 88 or 97 must also be
signed by each person who is to be a manager of the applicant upon its
continuance as proposed in the application and must state that the person
signing has no reason to believe that anything in he statement is untrue.
(5) A
manager, or a person who is to be a manager, who makes a statement under this
Regulation without having reasonable grounds for the opinion expressed in the
statement commits an offence and is liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment.
101 Provisions relating to
continuance
The Commission may
publish for the purposes of this Part details of –
(a) the forms of solvency
statements;
(b) any other document or
information that is to be provided on applications relating to continuance
within or outside Jersey;
(c) how applicants must
verify documents or information so provided; and
(d) the application fees that
are payable to the Commission.
102 Offences relating to
continuance
(1) A
person must not , on or in connection with an application under this Part,
knowingly or recklessly provides to the Commission –
(a) any information which is
false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular; or
(b) any document containing any
information which is false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular.
(2) A
person who contravenes paragraph (1) commits an offence and is liable to a fine
and 2 years imprisonment.
PART 9
Economic substance test
103 Power for Minister for
Treasury and Resources to apply to Court
If the Minister for
Treasury and Resources receives a report from the Comptroller of Taxes under
Article 9(5) of the Taxation
(Companies – Economic Substance) (Jersey) Law 2019 that a limited
liability company has not met the economic substance test within the meaning of
that Law, the Minister for Treasury and Resources may apply to the Court for an
order under Regulation 104.
104 Powers of court
(1) If,
on receiving an application under Regulation 103, the Court is satisfied
that the limited liability company which is the subject of the report has not
met the economic substance test, the Court may make such order as it thinks fit
requiring the limited liability company to take any action specified in the
order for the purpose of meeting the test, including, , any action described in
Regulation 117(2).
(2) If,
under paragraph (1), the Court orders a limited liability company to take
any action described in Regulation 117(2), paragraphs (3) to (5) of
that Regulation apply, as if an order under paragraph (1) were an order
under that Regulation.
PART 10
Investigations
105 Appointment of inspectors
(1) The
Minister or the Commission may appoint one or more inspectors to investigate the affairs of a limited
liability company and to report on them as the Minister or the Commission may
direct.
(2) The
appointment may be made on the application of the registrar, the limited
liability company or a member, officer or creditor of the limited liability company.
(3) The
Minister or the Commission may, before appointing inspectors, require the
applicant, other than the registrar, to give security, to an amount not
exceeding £10,000 or such other sum as may be prescribed by Order made under
Article 61 of the Law for payment of the costs of the investigation.
(4) This
Regulation applies whether or not the limited liability company is being wound
up.
(5) In
any case where the Minister or the Commission may exercise a function under
this Regulation, the decision of the Minister takes precedence.
106 Powers of inspectors
(1) If
inspectors appointed under Regulation 105 to investigate the affairs of a
limited liability company think it necessary for the purposes of their
investigation to investigate also the affairs of another limited liability
company or body corporate which is or at any relevant time has been the limited
liability company’s subsidiary or holding entity, or a subsidiary of its
holding entity or a holding entity of its subsidiary, they have power to do so,
and they must report on the affairs of the other entity so far as they think
the results of their investigation of its affairs are relevant to the
investigation of the affairs of the first-mentioned limited liability company.
(2) Inspectors
appointed under Regulation 105 may at any time in the course of their
investigation, without the necessity of making an interim report, inform the
Minister or the Commission (as the case may be) and the Attorney General of
matters coming to their knowledge as a result of the investigation tending to
show that an offence has been committed.
107 Production of records and
evidence to inspectors
(1) If
inspectors appointed under Regulation 105 consider that any person is or
may be in possession of information relating to a matter which they believe to
be relevant to the investigation –
(a) the inspectors may
require the person –
(i) to produce and make available to them all
records in the person’s custody or power relating to that matter,
(ii) at reasonable times and
on reasonable notice, to attend before them, and
(iii) otherwise to give them
all assistance in connection with the investigation which the person is
reasonably able to give; and
(b) that person must comply
with the requirement.
(2) Inspectors
may for the purposes of the investigation examine on oath any person mentioned
in paragraph (1), and may administer an oath accordingly.
(3) A
person who is required under paragraph (1) to answer any question which is
put to the person by an inspector must not –
(a) knowingly or recklessly
makes a statement which is false, misleading or deceptive in a material particular;
or
(b) knowingly or recklessly
withholds any information the omission of which makes the information which is
furnished misleading or deceptive in a material particular.
(4) A
person who contravenes paragraph (3) commits an offence and is liable to a fine
and 2 years imprisonment.
(5) An
answer given by a person to a question put to the personin exercise of the
powers conferred by this Regulation may not be used in evidence against the
person in any criminal proceedings except –
(a) proceedings in which the
person is charged with knowingly or recklessly making a false statement in the
course of being examined on oath under paragraph (2);
(b) proceedings under
paragraph (3); or
(c) proceedings for contempt
of court under Regulation 111(2).
108 Power of inspectors to call
for managers’ bank accounts
If inspectors appointed
under Regulation 105 have reasonable grounds for believing that a manager,
or past manager, of the limited liability company or other body whose affairs
they are investigating maintains or has maintained a bank account of any
description, whether alone or jointly with another person and whether in Jersey
or elsewhere, into or out of which there has been paid money which has been in
any way connected with an act or omission, or series of acts or omissions,
which constitutes misconduct (whether fraudulent or not) on the part of that
manager towards the limited liability company or its members, the inspectors
may require the manager to produce and make available to them all records in the
manager’s possession or under the manager’s control relating to that bank
account.
109 Authority for search
(1) Inspectors
appointed under Regulation 105 may for the purpose of an investigation
under that Regulation apply to the Bailiff for a warrant in relation to
specified premises.
(2) If
the Bailiff is satisfied that the conditions in paragraph (3) are
fulfilled the Bailiff may issue a warrant authorising a police officer and any
other person named in the warrant to enter the specified premises (using such
force as is reasonably necessary for the purpose) and to search them.
(3) The
conditions are –
(a) that there are reasonable
grounds for suspecting that there is on the premises material (whether or not
it can be particularised) which is likely to be of substantial value (whether
by itself or together with other material) to the investigation for the purpose
of which the application is made; and
(b) that the investigation
for the purpose of which the application is made might be seriously prejudiced
unless immediate entry can be secured to the premises.
(4) If
a person has entered premises in the execution of a warrant issued under this
Regulation, the person may seize and retain any material, other than items
subject to legal professional privilege, which is likely to be of substantial
value (whether by itself or together with other material) to the investigation
for the purpose of which the warrant was issued.
(5) In
this Regulation, “premises” includes any place and, in particular, includes –
(a) any vehicle, vessel,
aircraft or hovercraft;
(b) any offshore
installation; and
(c) any tent or movable
structure.
110 Obstruction
A person who wilfully
obstructs a person acting in the execution of a warrant issued under Regulation 109
commits an offence and is liable to a fine and 2 years imprisonment.
111 Failure to co-operate with
inspectors
(1) The
inspectors may give a certificate in writing to the Court if a person –
(a) fails to comply with a
requirement under Regulation 107 or 108; or
(b) refuses to answer any
question put to the person by the inspectors for the purpose of the
investigation.
(2) On
receiving a certificate the Court may inquire into the case and, after hearing
any witness who may be produced against or on behalf of the alleged offender
and any statement in defence, the Court may punish the offender as if the
person had been guilty of contempt of the Court.
112 Inspectors’ reports
(1) The
inspectors may, and, if directed by the Minister or the Commission, must –
(a) make interim reports; and
(b) on conclusion of their
investigation make a final report.
(2) The
inspectors must send the reports to the Minister or to the Commission, as the
case may be.
(3) The
Minister or the Commission may –
(a) forward a copy of any
report made by the inspectors to the limited liability company’s registered
office;
(b) furnish a copy on request
and on payment of the prescribed or published fee to –
(i) any member of the limited liability
company or other body which is the subject of the report,
(ii) any person whose conduct
is referred to in the report,
(iii) the auditors of the
limited liability company or that body,
(iv) the applicants for the
investigation,
(v) a relevant supervisory authority, or
(vi) any person whose
financial interests appear to the Minister or the Commission to be affected by
the matters dealt with in the report, whether as a creditor of the limited
liability company or as a body, or otherwise; and
(c) cause the report to be
printed and published.
(4) In
this Regulation, “relevant supervisory authority” means an authority
discharging in a country or territory outside Jersey any function that is the
same as, or similar to, a function of the Commission.
113 Power to bring civil
proceedings on behalf of limited liability company
(1) If,
from any report made or information obtained under this Part, it appears to the
Minister or the Commission that civil proceedings ought in the public interest
to be brought by a limited liability company, the Minister or the Commission
may bring those proceedings in the name and on behalf of the limited liability
company.
(2) The
Minister or the Commission must, at the expense of the States or the Commission
as appropriate, indemnify the limited liability company against any costs or
expenses incurred by it in or in connection with proceedings brought under this
Regulation.
(3) In
any case where the Minister or the Commission may exercise a discretion under
this Regulation, the decision of the Minister takes precedence.
114 Expenses of investigating a
limited liability company’s affairs
(1) The
expenses of and incidental to an investigation by inspectors are provided in
the first instance by the Minister or the Commission, but the following are
liable to make repayment to the Minister or the Commission –
(a) to the extent specified
in the Court order, a person who –
(i) is convicted in proceedings on a
prosecution instituted as a result of the investigation, or
(ii) is ordered to pay the
whole or any part of the costs of the proceedings brought under Regulation 113;
(b) a limited liability
company in whose name proceedings are brought under Regulation 113, to the amount or value of any sums or property
recovered by it as a result of those proceedings;
(c) a limited liability
company which has been the subject of the investigation, except so far as the
Minister or the Commission otherwise directs; and
(d) the applicant or
applicants for the investigation (other than the registrar), to the extent (if
any) which the Minister or the Commission may direct.
(2) For
the purposes of this Regulation, costs or expenses incurred by the Minister or
the Commission in or in connection with proceedings brought under Regulation 113
(including expenses incurred under paragraph (2) of that regulation are to
be treated as expenses of the investigation giving rise to the proceedings.
(3) A
liability to repay the Minister or the Commission imposed by paragraph (1)(a)
or (b) is (subject to satisfaction of the Minister’s or Commission’s right to
repayment) a liability also to indemnify all persons against liability under
-paragraph (1)(c) or (d) of that paragraph, and a liability imposed by
paragraph (1)(a) is (subject as mentioned above) a liability also to
indemnify all persons against liability under paragraph (1)(b).
(4) A
person liable under paragraph (1) is entitled to a contribution from any
other person liable under that paragraph according to the amount of their
respective liabilities under it.
(5) Expenses
to be paid by the Minister or the Commission under this Regulation will, so far
as not recovered under it, be paid out of money provided by the States or the
Commission as appropriate.
(6) In
particular, such reasonable sums as the Minister or the Commission may
determine in respect of general staff costs and overheads are to be treated as
expenses of the investigation.
115 Inspectors’ report to be evidence
(1) A
copy of a report of inspectors, certified by the Minister or the Commission to
be a true copy, is admissible in legal proceedings as evidence of the opinion
of the inspectors in relation to a matter contained in the report.
(2) A
document purporting to be a certified report mentioned in paragraph (1) is
to be received in evidence and be deemed to be such a certificate unless the
contrary is proved.
116 Privileged information
Nothing in this Part
requires the disclosure or production, to the Commission or to an inspector
appointed by the Minister or the Commission –
(a) by a person, of
information or records which the person would in an action in the Court be
entitled to refuse to disclose or produce on the grounds of legal professional
privilege in proceedings in the Court except, if the person is a lawyer, the
name and address of the lawyer’s client;
(b) by a limited liability
company’s bankers , of information or records relating to the affairs of any of
their customers other than the limited liability company or other body under investigation.
PART 11
MISCELLANEOUs
117 Powers of Court
(1) If
the Court is satisfied that an application under Regulation 55, 94, 96 or 103
is well founded, it may make an order giving relief in respect of the matters
complained of.
(2) In
particular, the Court’s order may –
(a) regulate the conduct of
the limited liability company’s affairs in the future;
(b) require the limited
liability company to refrain from doing or continuing an act complained of by
the applicant or to do an act which the applicant has complained it has omitted
to do;
(c) authorise civil
proceedings to be brought in the name and on behalf of the limited liability
company by a person or persons and on the erms the Court may direct; and
(d) provide for the purchase
of the rights of any members of the limited liability company by other members
or by the limited liability company itself and, in the case of a purchase by
the limited liability company itself, the reduction of the limited liability company’s
capital accounts accordingly.
(3) If
an order under this Regulation requires the limited liability company not to
make any, or any specified, alterations in its declaration or LLC agreement,
the limited liability company must not without leave of the Court make
alterations in breach of that requirement.
(4) An
alteration in the limited liability company’s LLC agreement or declaration made
by virtue of an order of the Court under this Regulation is of the same effect
as if duly approved by the limited liability company, and the provisions of these
Regulations apply to the declaration or LLC agreement as so altered
accordingly.
(5) The
act of court recording the making of an order under this Regulation altering,
or giving leave to alter, a limited liability company’s LLC agreement or
declaration must, within 14 days from the making of the order or such
longer period as the Court may allow, be delivered by the limited liability company
to the registrar for registration.
(6) A
limited liability company that fails to comply with paragraph (5) commits an
offence and is liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale and a fine of
level 2 on the standard scale for each day during which the offence continues .
118 Citation and commencement
These Regulations may be
cited as the Limited Liability Companies (General Provisions) (Jersey)
Regulations 2022 and come into force on the
commencement of Article 60 of the Limited Liability
Companies (Jersey) Law 2018.