The Companies Act 2006 (“CA”) received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006 and will now be enacted by a series of Commencement Orders. So, what changes will affect company directors themselves?

One significant change is that from October 2008 directors will be able to file a service address for placement on the public record. They will still be required to disclose their residential address but they can then choose to have this held on a private register, only available to certain predetermined organizations. This will help protect many directors from intimidation but those at most risk can also apply for a Confidentiality Order, thereby restricting all users from obtaining the directors residential address. The requirements for disclosing other directorships will also be removed on 1 October 2008.

Whilst the maximum age for directors of a PLC, which used to be 70, has already been removed, the CA will introduce a new minimum age of 16 for all directors. This will be effective from October 2008 at which time all current directors under 16 will automatically cease to be a director. Similarly, there will be a new requirement that each company will have to have at least one director who is a natural person, ie not a body corporate. However, there is a period of grace until October 2010 for any company which at 8 November 2006 did not have at least one director who was a natural person. It is worth remembering that these new requirements apply equally to dormant companies.

From 6 April 2008, private companies will no longer need to have a company secretary and can inform the Registrar via the usual form. It follows that a company can then operate with a sole director and no secretary, providing that director is a natural person. This will help many small businesses where there was only one key person running the business. If the company continues to have a company secretary, then this could still be a corporate body.

If you require any advice regarding the impending changes, then contact Glen Marshall at Landin Wilcock & Co on 0114 2754321.